Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that he shelved plans to buy Arsenal because he needed to focus financially on completing his $20 billion refinery project in Lagos.
Dangote made the disclosure during a podcast interview with Nicolai Tangen, released on Wednesday through the investment firm’s official YouTube channel.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group said Arsenal was valued at about $2 billion when he seriously considered acquiring the club, but he decided to channel the money into completing his refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical projects.
“When I was really very, very focused on buying Arsenal, then I was also facing the challenge of making sure the refinery gets its own completion, the fertilizer, the petrochemical.
“At that time, Arsenal was worth just about $2 billion. Should I put my $2 billion in Arsenal and now allow the business to suffer? Or should I complete the business? Then I can continue to remain a very big supporter of Arsenal,” he said.
Dangote explained that he eventually chose to remain a supporter rather than pursue ownership of the club, noting that Arsenal’s present valuation makes a takeover less attractive.
“Today they are worth billions and it’s not really worth my while at all,” he added.
The billionaire said he still closely follows the club and often wears Arsenal jerseys on matchdays, including one signed by the team captain.
“Any time that they are playing, I always wear the t-shirt,” he said.
Speaking to young Africans, Dangote encouraged hard work and optimism about the continent’s future.
“My own advice to young African people is to work hard and also have the belief that the future is greater than the current situation that we’re in. Africa is a promising land and they should stay at home,” he said.
Dangote has long been linked with a possible Arsenal takeover. A fan of the club since the 1980s, he was first connected to a minority stake purchase in 2010 and later told the BBC in 2015 that he intended to launch a full takeover bid after completing his refinery project.
He repeated the ambition in several interviews through 2020, including one with financier David Rubenstein, where he said he would consider buying the club after finishing his major industrial projects.
Despite the long-running speculation, no formal bid was ever submitted.