Aliko Dangote has admitted that he is planning to buy Arsenal Football Club.
The Nigerian billionaire – the richest man in Africa – has made no secret of his desire to take over the north London club in the past and has made several statements about launching a future takeover bid in the past.
And the 62-year-old Gunners supporter, who is at number 136 on Forbes’ rich list, has been speaking up a move for the club again.
Dangote owns nearly 85% of the publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company. He also owns stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.
According to Forbes the Dangote Refinery has been under construction for three years and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete.
And it is that project that is keeping the billionaire from making a move to buy Arsenal from Stan Kroenke right now.
Speaking in 2018, Dangote said that he wanted to buy Arsenal this year.
He said back then: “We will go after Arsenal from 2020, even if somebody buys, we will still go after it.”
Now, with the Dangote Refinery still in process, Dangote has altered his plans and made the big claim that he will buy the club sometime in 2021.
Speaking on the David Rubenstein Show in America, in an interview recorded in September, Dangote said: “It is a team that yes I would like to buy some day, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion worth of projects and that’s what I really want to concentrate on. I’m trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe some time in 2021 we can.
“I’m not buying Arsenal right now, I’m buying Arsenal when I finish all these projects, because I’m trying to take the company to the next level.”
You can see the full interview with Dangote, which was only released on YouTube this month, here .
