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Africa's richest man has admitted that he still wants to buy Arsenal, despite failing with a bid to buy the club in 2010.
Nigerian commodities businessman Aliko Dangote is worth an estimated $15.7billion (£10.38bn), far in excess of current Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke (£3.7bn) and minority owner Alisher Usmanov (£9.65bn).
“I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” Dangote told Bloomberg .
“I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my strategy.”
Arsenal are currently valued at just shy of £1bn, £988m, and look on course to finish in second in the Premier League this season.
If a deal ever did go through, Dangote would become the first African owner of a Premier League club.
Dangote has previously stated that Arsene Wenger "needs to change his style a bit".
Show all 9 1 /9The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game The Venkys – Blackburn Rovers owners The Venky’s are often cited as an example of how not to run football club. When the Venky’s took over in 2010 they made a series of footballing gaffes that clearly illustrated that India’s largest poultry business have absolutely no idea how to run a successful football club. Their first mistake was to install false hope in their fans by claiming that they were going to sign the likes of David Beckham and Ronaldinho. They also promised to take the club into the Champions League, something that evidently has failed to materialise since. They then made the unpopular decision to sack then manager Sam Allardyce and appoint the relatively inexperienced Steve Kean, resulting in relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2011 / 2012 campaign. To top it off, the owners made their own players star in a deeply embarrassing Venky’s chicken advert, which to any Rovers fan must be serious ‘fowl’ play. GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Thaksin Shinawatra- former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, bought Manchester City in 2008. Thaksin appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson as manager who later admitted that the owner didn’t have a clue about football. It later emerged that the Thai business tycoon, turned politician, turned football owner faced charges for political corruption and human rights abuse in Thailand. He was sentenced to a two year jail term and is now on the run from Thai authorities. GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Flavio Briatore – Former QPR co-owner In 2007 Flavio Briatore completed his takeover of Queens Park Rangers alongside Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal. His time at the club, well documented by the documentary ‘the four year plan’, was unconventional to say the least. Briatore was renowned for interfering in first team selection. He dismissed several managers in quick succession and was famously quoted for saying “We found a band of drunkards. One hits a player. Another gets drunk. This is impressive.” After falling out with the Football League, Briatore was forced to step down in February 2010. When interviewed about the QPR experience on an Italian chat show he stated "I will never invest in a Football Club again, it's only ever a good idea if you're very rich and looking for ways to waste your money. In two years you'll be very poor and won't have that problem anymore." GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Tom Hicks and George Gillette - former co-owners at Liverpool Former Liverpool owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillette, shrouded themselves in controversy during their stay at Anfield. The pair were deeply unpopular with the supporters and their proposal of a ground share with arch-rivals Everton did little to enhance their profile. Embarrassingly, the owners failed to even get along with each other. Their feud was made public when Hicks infamously blocked Gillette’s attempt to sell his stake in the club in 2008. Relations with former manager, Rafa Benitez were also strained. When Hicks and Gillett ended their ill-fated six year stint at the club, Reds fans rejoiced at the news. GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Mike Ashley- Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley’s tenure at the club since 2007 has been turbulent. The owner is often seen to be downing beers in the stands at St James’s Park. In 2009 he controversially announced that he was changing the name of their ground to "sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium" until the end of the season. A move that didn’t go down too well with the Newcastle faithful. He has since drawn criticism for handing Alan Pardew an eight year contract and then subsequently appointing ex-manager Joe Kinnear as director of football. GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Assem Allam – Hull City owner The Hull City owner, Assam Allam, has alienated supporters by trying to change the name of the club to ‘Hull City Tigers’ against their wishes. The owner told fans he was going to consult them on the issue, however, shortly after he sent an official request to the Premier League to change the name. GETTY IMAGES
The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Milan Mandarić – Former Portsmouth owner Milan Manderic had a reputation for being trigger happy when it came to firing managers. By the time that he appointed Harry Redknapp in 2002, Manderic had already disposed of Alan Ball, Tony Pulis, Steve Claridge and Graham. However the pair fell out after Manderic hired Velimir Zajec as executive director in 2004, a move that resulted in Redknapp’s resignation shortly afterwards. In 2010 Manderic was charged with tax evasion regarding his time at Pompey. GETTY IMAGES
The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Roman Abramovich – Chelsea owner Since taking over Chelsea in 2003, Abramovich has seen his side win three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2012. However, during Abramovich’s 10 year tenure at the club, he has overseen 10 managerial changes. Abramovich sacked Jose Mourinho after the pair fell out in 2007, before bringing him back to Stamford Bridge at the start of this season. GETTY IMAGES
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The most controversial club owners to have graced the English game Maurizio Zamparini- owner of Palermo Maurizio Zamparini lost patience with his manager once again last week sacking manager Gennaro Gattuso. The ex-Italian international lost his job after the Serie B outfit suffered back to back defeats. Zamparini has now sacked 20 managers in 10 years since taking over Palermo. GETTY IMAGES
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