Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the president and chief executive of the Dangote Group, expressed regret for not purchasing Arsenal when he was more interested in being the owner of a football club.
He declared that he wished that he had purchased the English side club for the estimated $2 billion.
The billionaire business magnate said that he lost out on purchasing Arsenal because he dedicated his resources to the refinery project in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in New York.
He said, “I think that time has passed. The last time when we had this interview, I told you as soon as I finish with the refinery, I am going to try and buy Arsenal.
“But you know everything has gone up and the club too is doing very well, Arsenal is doing extremely well right now. That time Arsenal wasn’t doing well.
“I think I don’t have that kind of excess liquidity to go and buy a club for $4 billion so to speak and use it as a promotional something.
“But what I will do is to continually be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games anytime they are playing. So, I will remain a major supporter of Arsenal, but I don’t think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.’
When asked if he regretted not buying when Arsenal’s value was lower, he said, “Actually, I regret not buying it before but you know my money was more needed in completing my project (Dangote refinery) than buying Arsenal. I would have bought the club for $2 billion but you know I wouldn’t have been able to finish my project. So, it was either I finish my project or go and buy Arsenal.”
Dangote had in 2020 made known his intention to go for the North London club after his refinery project.
The billionaire business mogul, who has now rested his ambition to take over at Emirates Stadium, founded the Dangote Group — the largest conglomerate in West Africa — in 1981.
