Aliko Dangote – Africa’s richest man – has stated his desire to buy Arsenal ‘within three to four years’.
The 59-year-old, who is believed to be worth around £8.3billion, has spoken of his interest to take over Arsenal on a number of occasions but said that he needs to overcome ‘challenging headwinds’ in his other business ventures before focusing on buying the Gunners.
‘Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this.’ Dangote told Bloomberg.
‘It’s not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual.
‘It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I’ve run a very successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team.
‘Right now, with what we’re facing, over £15billion of projects, I cannot do both.’
Dangote attempted to buy shares in Arsenal six years ago.
The Nigerian tried to take over the 15 per cent owned by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who eventually sold her stake to Stan Kroenke.
If Dangote did manage to purchase Arsenal he would become the first African owner of a Premier League team, but he may have to wait a little longer than four years to fulfil his ambition of owning the Gunners.
Dangote lost £3.4billion last year due to the depreciation of Nigeria’s currency, while Dangote Cement’s stock is down by nearly five per cent this year.