- Nigerian Aliko Dangote has a net worth of around £12.2billion
- Dangote has reiterated his desire to buy shares in Arsenal
- Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov are the biggest shareholders
- Dangote claims he will have enough resources to pay what they ask for
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has reiterated his hopes of one day buying Arsenal.
The
Nigerian has an estimated fortune of some £12.2billion and is reported
to have wanted to purchase a holding in the Gunners when former director
Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith was selling her stock in 2011.
Arsenal’s
current majority shareholder is American tycoon Stan Kroenke, who has a
66.64 per cent holding and remains committed to the Barclays Premier
League club for the long-term.
Nevertheless,
last month Dangote, whose business interests include sugar, flour and
oil, stated he remained keen to become part of the Emirates Stadium club
sometime in the future.
In a
fresh interview with BBC World Service Hausa, Dangote indicated once his
work in the establishment of an oil refinery in his homeland – set to
be the largest in Africa – is complete, then he would consider
revisiting his interest in making a move at Arsenal.
‘When
we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough
resources to pay what they are asking for,’ he told the channel.
‘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.
‘We backtracked because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation.’
Dangote
feels Arsenal, who last season retained the FA Cup, can mount a
challenge for top honours again, albeit perhaps with a different outlook
from the boardroom.
He
added: ‘They are doing well but they need another strategic direction.
They need more direction than the current situation, where they just
develop players and sell them.’
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