Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has told Bloomberg that he will try to persuade both major shareholders Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov to sell their stakes in Arsenal within the next three years.
The Nigerian businessman is reportedly worth $11.1billion but he is currently working on building an oil refinery in Lagos which will take until 2020 to complete. Once it is up and running, Dangote says, he will make a significant offer for the club:
“If they get the right offer, I’m sure they would walk away. Someone will give them an offer that will make them seriously consider walking away. And when we finish the refinery, I think we will be in a position to do that.”
Dangote has often talked about becoming Arsenal’s owner but his business interests as the owner of the multinational conglomerate the Dangote Group has meant he has often talked up a bid for the Gunners, but has continued to focus on his work instead.
During the same Bloomberg interview, he also promised he would sack manager Arsene Wenger as he believes it is time for someone else to take the reins and move the club forward.
