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Arsenal news: Africa's richest man, £12billion Aliko Dangote, reiterates desire to buy club

Dangote has "enough time and resources to pay what they are asking"

Tom Sheen
Wednesday 17 June 2015 17:17 BST
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Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, wants to buy Arsenal
Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, wants to buy Arsenal

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote has reiterated his desire to buy Premier League club Arsenal.

The Nigerian commodities businessman is worth an estimated $18.4billion (£11.69bn), far in excess of current Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke (£4bn) and minority owner Alisher Usmanov (£9.28bn).

Speaking back in May, Dangote told Bloomberg that "I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team."

In a new interview with BBC Hausa, the 58-year-old believes that the building of a new oil refinery will give him enough wealth to make a bid for the Gunners.

"When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for," said Dangote, who has supported the club since the 1980s.

He was close to buying the 15.9 per cent stake that Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith eventually sold to Kroenke, but pulled out.

He added: "There 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.

"We backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation."

The Nigerian also believes a new approach in the boardroom will lead to more success on the pitch.

"They are doing well, but they need another strategic direction. They need more direction than the current situation, where they just develop players and sell them."

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