Multi-Billionaire Fan Claims He Will 'Definitely' Try to Buy Arsenal Football Club
Owning a football club is a dream for many fans, and it appears as though one Arsenal fan is planning on making a substantial offer in order to make his dream a reality.
The report comes from the Financial Times, who claim that Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, is set to lodge a huge offer with the club. Dangote is valued by Forbes at around $14.1bn, meaning he may well have what it takes to convince Arsenal's current majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, to part ways with the club.
The Nigerian businessman values the club at around $2bn, which is similar to the valuation of the club by Forbes in 2016, who listed the Gunners at $2.017bn.
He has made no secret of his passion towards Arsenal, and plans to buy the club to reward himself for completing a huge oil refinery near Lagos. He told the Financial Times: "I love Arsenal and I will definitely go for it."
He also insisted that he would like to be actively involved in the transfer dealings of the club, should he manage to buy the team. “When I buy it, I have to bring it up to the expectations of our supporters,” he said, whilst also suggesting he would be 'chipping in [his] own advice' when it comes to potential transfers.
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Kroenke has shown no intention of selling Arsenal, or even entertaining any offers for the club. Whilst Forbes estimated that Dangote's wealth eclipses that of Kroenke by around $4bn, Kroenke does not need to sell the club to maintain his wealth, despite being in line to make a significant profit on his initial investment.
This is not the first time that Dangote has hinted at buying Arsenal, and Nigerian newspaper Pulse believe that Dangote is not serious about buying the team, instead simply wanting the publicity.
They quote Dangote as having previously said: “The issue is that if I buy all the Nigerian clubs, the Nigerian flags will continue to remain here. Buying Arsenal will take the Nigerian flag worldwide.
"Just like whenever (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich is mentioned, the name of his country comes up. Everyone knows he’s Russian.”
Pulse believe that this is proof that Dangote is not truly interested in owning a football team but, with an estimated $14.1bn at his disposal, Dangote certainly has all the tools to make a serious offer.
