I Regret Not Buying Arsenal — Dangote

Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has expressed regret over his decision not to buy Premier League club Arsenal for $2 billion.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York on Monday, Dangote acknowledged that the “time has passed” for him to buy Arsenal, saying that the club is now valued at approximately $4bn.

LEADERSHIP recalls that in 2020, the African richest man indicated his intention to acquire the North London club after completing his refinery project.

As of September 2024, Dangote is the second-richest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of $13.4 billion.

He, however, explained that he no longer has the liquidity to justify spending $4bn on Arsenal.

“I think that time has passed,” Dangote said. “The last time we had this interview, I told you that, yes, as soon as I finished with the refinery, I was going to try and buy Arsenal. But the issue is that everything has gone up. The clubs are all doing well, and Arsenal is doing extremely well now. At that time, when I wanted to buy, they were not doing very well.”

Dangote emphasised that investing in his refinery project was the right decision at the time, “I regret not buying Arsenal before. But my money was needed to complete my projects rather than buying Arsenal. I would have bought it for $2 billion, but I wouldn’t have been able to finish my project.”

He however affirmed that he remained a devoted Arsenal fan.

“I’ll continue to be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games every time and will remain a major supporter, but I don’t think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.”

“Actually, I regret not buying Arsenal before, but completing my project was the right move,” he added.