Dangote – I Regret Not Buying Arsenal For $2 billion

Africa’s richest man and chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has expressed regret for not buying Arsenal football club when he had the opportunity.

In an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in New York, the Nigerian billionaire reflected on the missed chance, noting that he had previously considered purchasing the club for $2 billion.

“I think that time has passed. The last time we had this interview, I told you that yes as soon as I finished with the refinery, I am going to try and buy Arsenal.

“But the issue is that everything has gone up. The clubs are all doing well. Arsenal are doing extremely well now. At that time [that I wanted to buy] they were not doing very well.”

“I think I don’t have that kind of excess liquidity to go and buy a club for $4 billion and use it for promotional something.

“I would rather do something with the money. What I’ll do, I will continue to be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games every time. I will remain a major supporter of Arsenal but I don’t think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.

Dangote emphasized that completing the refinery in Nigeria was his top priority.

“Actually I regret not buying Arsenal before, but you know my money was more needed in completing my project than buying Arsenal. I would have bought it for $2 billion,” he said.