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| Aliko Dangote |
Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has expressed disappointment in his failure to acquire English Premier League club Arsenal. Aliko Dangote admits that he regrets failing to buy Arsenal.In 2021, the president and chief executive of Dangote Group was linked with the London club, which was valued at $2 billion (KSH 257b) at the time. It was not the first time Dangote had expressed interest in purchasing the Emirates Stadium outfit, as he wanted to buy Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9% stake, which Kroenke eventually purchased in 2015.
In a recent interview with Francine Lacqua of Bloomberg in New York, the entrepreneur explained that his commitment to the refinery project saw him miss out on Arsenal. Dangote’s continued support for The Gunners Dangote said: “I think that time has passed. The last time when we had this interview, I told you as soon as I finish with the refinery, I am going to try and buy Arsenal. But you know everything has gone up and the club too is doing very well, Arsenal is doing extremely well right now. That time Arsenal wasn’t doing well. “I think I don’t have that kind of excess liquidity to go and buy a club for $4 billion (KSh 515 billion) so to speak and use it as a promotional something.
But what I will do is to continually be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games anytime they are playing. So, I will remain a major supporter of Arsenal but I don’t think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.” The 67-year-old however stated that he now regrets not coughing up the amount to buy the club, admitting that the value was lower at the time. He added: “Actually, I regret not buying it before but you know my money was more needed in completing my project (Dangote refinery) than buying Arsenal. I would have bought the club for $2 billion (KSh 257 billion) but you know I wouldn’t have been able to finish my project. So, It was either I finish my project or go and buy Arsenal.” How much is Arsenal? According to Forbes, Arsenal is valued at an estimated $2.6b (KSh 334b). Arsenal and Emirates announced an extension of their partnership prior to the 2023/24 season.
by Muyela Roberto