Aliko Dangote has
revealed why he is not looking at buying clubs in his country, Nigeria, but is
very interested in a potential takeover of Premier League team, Arsenal.
The business magnate was criticized in certain quarters, with some observers insisting he should have bought a domestic club and not look abroad.
The business magnate was criticized in certain quarters, with some observers insisting he should have bought a domestic club and not look abroad.
However, speaking to a
group of senior editors, Dangote said: “the issue is that if I buy all the
Nigerian clubs, the Nigerian flags will continue to remain here. But buying
Arsenal will take the Nigerian flag worldwide. Just like whenever Abrahamovich
is mentioned, the name of his country, Russia comes up, everyone knows he’s
Russian.”
The 58-year-old, who is
the richest man in Africa, is worth $15.7billion according to the Bloomberg
Billionaires Index and was rebuffed in his attempts to buy a stake in the
Gunners in 2010.
“I still hope, one day
at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” Dangote said in an interview on a
flight between Addis Ababa and Lagos in May this year.
“I might buy it, not at
a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my
strategy.”
If he is successful with a future bid, it would make him the first African owner of a club in England .
No comments:
Post a Comment