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Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Foundation. Photo Credit: Imago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a>, Soccernet.ng reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n The idea originated decades ago. According to the BBC<\/a><\/strong>, Dangote has been a fan of the Gunners since the 1980’s.<\/p>\n 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%.<\/p>\n In April 2011, Dangote was interested in purchasing the 15.9% stake sold to Kroenke for \u00a3123m by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, only to pull out.<\/p>\n Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d Dangote said as of 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cWe backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In an interview with Nicolai Tangen of the Norges Bank Investment Management<\/a><\/strong>, the 69-year-old revealed he was stuck at a crossroads because he wanted to complete his refinery.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Africa’s richest man said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I looked at it, it looked fine, but I needed funds. At the time, Arsenal was worth about two billion dollars. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cDo I put my money in Arsenal and allow the business suffer? Or do I complete the buildings and comeback to be an Arsenal supporter?<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI’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,\u201d Aliko Dangote concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/X5yoJBC2Yqiv9I2ZadNZvRpF2lA=\/5600x3733\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F05%2Fimago260948102.jpg\")
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