Nigeria's wealthiest man and the richest black man, Aliko Dangote, has opened up on why he refused to step up his interest in buying his beloved football club Arsenal, Soccernet.ng reports.
The idea originated decades ago. According to the BBC, Dangote has been a fan of the Gunners since the 1980's.
As of 2015, American Stan Kroenke was Arsenal's majority shareholder, owning 67.02% of the club's parent company Arsenal Holdings plc, while Russian-Uzbek Alisher Usmanov owned 30.04%.
In April 2011, Dangote was interested in purchasing the 15.9% stake sold to Kroenke for £123m by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, only to pull out.
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“There were a couple of us who were rushing to buy, and we thought with the prices then, the people who were interested in selling were trying to go for a kill,” Dangote said as of 2011.
“We backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation.”
Why Aliko Dangote didn't buy Arsenal
In an interview with Nicolai Tangen of the Norges Bank Investment Management, the 69-year-old revealed he was stuck at a crossroads because he wanted to complete his refinery.
“I almost bought the club, yes. When I was focused on buying Arsenal, I was also facing the challenge of completing the refinery, our fertilizers and the petro-chemical firm,” Africa's richest man said.
“When I looked at it, it looked fine, but I needed funds. At the time, Arsenal was worth about two billion dollars.
“Do I put my money in Arsenal and allow the business suffer? Or do I complete the buildings and comeback to be an Arsenal supporter?
“I decided to keep supporting, watch games, go there. I have a scarf and the shirt, and whenever they play, I wear it. I have one signed by the captain.
“I'm a fan. It's better for me to continue as a fan and continue to fund my own business. Today, they're worth billions and it's not worth my while at all,” Aliko Dangote concluded.
As per Forbes, Arsenal are the eighth most valuable club in the world ($3.4B), with an operating income of $173m.
