Africa’s richest man, Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, has reaffirmed his plans to buy Premier League club Arsenal.
Dangote, worth $10.9 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, had said last year he would make a bid for the top English club but has now said he will wait for his business prospects to improve before putting his plans into fruition.
“Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this,” Dangote told Bloomberg Television in New York on Wednesday night.
Bloomberg reports that Dangote, an Arsenal fan, has lost $4.4 billion this year, the fourth most of anyone globally, due mainly to the depreciation of the naira.
An acquisition of the team would make him the first African owner of a team in England’s Premier League.
“It’s not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual,” he added.
“It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I’ve run a very successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team. Right now, with what we’re facing, over $20 billion of projects, I cannot do both.”
Arsenal’s majority shareholder is currently American billionaire businessman Stan Kroenke who owns 67 per cent of the club.
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