Dangote has expressed regret not buying Arsenal in the past.
Glamtush reports that the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, expressed regret for not purchasing Arsenal, a football club he was interested in owning.
This online news platform understands that he mentioned that he wished he had bought the English club when it was valued at around $2 billion.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in New York, the billionaire business mogul explained that he missed out on buying Arsenal because he had committed his resources to a refinery project.
He 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 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.’
When asked if he regretted not buying when Arsenal’s value was lower, he said, “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 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.”
Dangote had in 2020 made known his intention to go for the North London club after his refinery project.
The richest man in Africa, who has now rested his ambition to take over at Emirates Stadium, founded the Dangote Group — the largest conglomerate in West Africa — in 1981.
