Remember Aliko Dangote? The Nigerian billionaire recently was in the news for declaring his interest in buying Arsenal. He reveals that buying the club will help raise the profile of his home country Nigeria.
He was criticized for not investing in the domestic league and just looking for greener pastures abroad. But, the 58-year-old business tycoon believes that if he is successful in buying a high profile club, then it would help Nigeria. Arsenal fits the bill perfectly for him.
Dangote went on to add that post the takeover of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich, everyone took the name of his homeland Russia whenever the club was mentioned. Not a sound logic but definitely an excuse for someone looking to invest in a successful club.
His business empire also extends to oil and he is also well known for building a private refinery in one of the country’s jungle swamps. This is due for completion in 2018 and Dangote believes that taking over a football club will lead him to instant recognition that will help his business too.
This will not be the first time that the Nigeria businessman planned to buy stakes in Arsenal. Five years ago he tried to buy a small stake but was rebuffed in his attempt. He tried to take over the 15 percent of the club stakes which were owned by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith.
There was huge outcry on the ulterior motives of the businessman when he tried doing that. There were question marks on what his real intentions were and most of the supporters heaved a sigh of relief when he was unsuccessful.
Dangote is adamant that if he buys a local club the Nigerian flags will continue to remain here while buying a club like Arsenal will help him raise the national profile on the world stage.
At the moment, Arsenal’s largest shareholders are American billionaire Stan Kroenke who owns 66.6% and Russian steel tycoon Alisher Usmanov who owns 30% of the club. Unconfirmed reports put them as not interested in selling their stakes to Dangote or for any one.
There is no doubt that buying Arsenal will boost Dangote and his company profile. It may help put Nigeria on the world map too. But, is it good for the club? Should the club be looking at investment that may help boost the squad but shorn the club of its identity? It is highly unlikely that majority of supporters will agree with Dangote but would it be any worse for the club to be run by a Nigerian than an American and Russian investor?
We are not signing any more players. Please don’t be delusional. Kroenke is a business man, he has ruined all sports clubs under him. Example: Colorado!
£7m that Stan Kroenke awarded himself last year from Arsenal profits
Wenger is the manager he has full control of transfers on who comes in and who goes out,the buck stops with Wenger because we know that he’s given the funds which enabled him to bring in Sanchez,Ozil and Czech
Which Colorado team you actually mean? You do know that he owns the Denver Nuggets(3 titles under Kroenke) , Colorado Avalanche (very successful in NHL), Colorado Rapids (always a crappy club since the inception of MLS although lately they follow the same model as Arsenal so who knows), Colorado Mammoth (have no clue as this is lacrosse but it looks like since Kroenke bought they already have a major title and 3 division championship).
Nice info budd
Is all public. Also, that doesn’t change the fact that Kroenke is a businessman looking for profit in each of his own enterprises and that includes AFC as well. Club is run very well from a financial point of view, of course. With right investments maybe, just maybe, we will actually challenge any team in this world. The funny thing is that people give financial/business advice to Wenger. I heard now everything. You can question him on football (everyone is a coach) but to challenge him on business level in this field is like challenging Warren Buffet in the Dragon Den. Am I happy with how Arsenal is run these days? Let me put it this way : I trust the board and the team that they will do everything they can to win more ttile in the short term.
Budd don’t you feel we need a top striker and DM???? Do you think we will get one of them at least by end of the transfer window???
and a top LW tooo…Alexis cant play every game…which player in the team is able to replace Alexis and carry the team when Alexis gets injured???
Pedro would do the trick,he can play on both sides.if we go in with a serious offer we might get him. Or gotze,gotze would be my first choice. There are players available, we need to go in with big offers.we have the cash why not do so?
Which player can replace what Sanchez gives, this is such a stupid question.
If we had another of Sanchez abilities do you not think he would make the first team. Yeah hell be happy warming the bench til AS pulls a hammy, whatever your smoking i hope nobodies breathing in the second hand crap.
Oh yeah thats right, che have another Hazard quality on bench. Real have another Ronaldo and Barca have another Messi, I thought theyd never find another of Messis quality to sit on the bench but what do I know.
How old is the person who asks this question, or am I the bigger fool to even bother answer it.
I did not said we don’t need a DM, ST. Hell! Even a CB/LB won’t hurt. I trust the board and the management that they work on this. At least one striker if you ask me.
I agree, Kroenke, as much as I don’t really like the guy, has a reputation of building clubs to be self sufficient and relatively successful. Also the ‘withdrawal’ of £7mill is something that happens quite often in America with there teams, also in Spain, there is often a shareholder payout system. Otherwise why would they invest…? And don’t say for the love of the club because football doesn’t work like that anymore.
RE: Dangote: The problem with Clubs depending on one investor means theres a period of confusion when that investor leaves. I mean, yes, the system brought Chelsea success but what happens when Abramovic leaves? History shows us it’s not always successful…
Billionaires from poor countries. 18.6 billion would surely help his country and continent.
Africa needs to rise up and take some advice from Bob Marley. Get up stand up, stand up for your right. ……………………..Dont give up the fight. Sheesh Arsenal could do with listening also.
Maybe Communism, not Fashism dressed up as communism but real Communism.
and the Rams!
Off topic: barca seem to be getting closer to signing turan.that could mean Pedro can leave,we might get our man after all.sign Pedro and we won’t need a striker.we can rely on Sanchez and Pedro to get lots of goals.hope the Pedro thing is true.
Sorry,barca have already signed turan.my bad….he can’t play for the first half of the season so they will probably hold on to Pedro….
Arteta signing an extension and Wenger delaying the damn DM signing for another season.its been 3 seasons that we have been linked with a number of dm and here we are another season with arteta. Where can I share my pain??how??we are so so close to becoming the complete package.using arteta as a DM is going to cost us points,vital points
I don’t want Dangote to buy Arsenal….It won’t do the club good. Maybe I am wrong’ Just my thinking!
Why would it do the club wrong???are Chelsea doing wrong???we need an owner with actual passion towards the game,someone who would want to win trophies and bring in world class players. On the other hand we have a manager like Wenger who is just stingy,we have funds available and he won’t spend it. I’m totally confused.I guess our current shareholders and Wenger are after profit and not titles.go on and thumb me down,ten years without winning the bpl and I have lost faith in the clubs management.
You must be a Nigerian. Having his plans clearly stated for his country and his business is his number 1 priority. Could you quote where in the article states that he has a plan for Arsenal other than the club bringing up his name? You all from Nigeria can go ahead and thumb me down but you all also wants your country’s name to be on top and just to state the face that your beloved Arsenal is owned by one of your country men. I say Don’t sell…
He didn’t state that because he already did in the first report, this was a counter report in response to angry Nigerians who feel he should invest the money on NIGERIA, he actually has good ambitions for the club
Kroenke obviously is more passionate about his business doing well than the club doing well on the pitch… As a fan, (yeah, I know about FFP, etc, etc) Dangote might be more willing to open his coffers for the good of the club. The only problem I might have with tycoons like him or Usmanov, for that matter, is letting their emotions take over them (like many fans do) & putting too much pressure on management for instantaneous results.
would rather prefer usmanov than this guy
Why?
i with Leo on this one Usmanov has been there for a while and he might not have power in the board room but the fans like him
Doesn’t quite answer my question – why?
@ Mick The Gooner
Like i said he was there before Dangote and like Dangote Usmanov is a billionaire if there was a vote i would vote the guy who has been waiting in line for years to have a go who also is a true supporter of Arsenal AND NO OTHER REASON if your looking for one
usmanov would be better than this guy he will also bring back david dein
But if you’re talking of David Dein, then Dangote is the man to bring Dein back. He is closer to Dein than Usmanov. Dein was instrumental in Dangote starting his business. They go way back. Read that in an earlier Dangote interview. He also mentioned that he became an arsenal fan because of Dein.
Flamini in training but he is talking with Bastia about a move to the Ligue 1 club + real Madrid pres is currently in paris to sign ibra/cavani if that happens Madrid could sell benzema
no arteta today in training
So what? Meh, is not only Arteta. Ozil, Sanchez (understandable), Giroud, Walcott, Bellerin, Ramsey, Monreal not training today.
Best thing is that I have seen Shad Forsythe there today.
arteta was there in the colony his pic with that romaninan kid vlad was seen few days back he is being linked with a move to real sociedad as coach
I think that’s old news. Arteta just signed one year extension.
Perez already had an offer of 125 millions for Ronaldo from PSG (now that FFP was frozen) this morning. Wonder what he’s thinking.
crazy while city are set to sign de bryne/sterling for 90m+ ffp my a$$
@Leo where have you been man Platini abolished FFP to help French League over EPL
he said it wasn’t fare that all the English teams get so much money from TV rights
@tas agreed dude plaitini is a joke does he want duopoly like la liga where only Madrid & barca dominate or like in bundesliga with Bayern pl is miles better
If city pull these two signings off they will be the team to beat next season. Wish we could spend the way city and manure do.don’t we fans deserve a couple of more world class players???
flamini must be set to join is good mate squidward(squillaci) at bastia
Everyone’s very anti Dangote from what I’ve heard. I don’t understand why. I mean, can you get worse than Kroenke? Doesn’t do anything and has started taking money out. I suppose the nightmare of a Vincent Tan type owner would be worse, but Dangote says he’s a fan and has been for a long time. Clearly he likes Arsenal, so I imagine that will mean trying to do what’s best for the club.
I don’t like the prospect of being a billionaire bankrolled club, especially after all the pain of building the Emirates on our own without investment, all that time spent trying to get to a level where we can compete with the billionaires, and when we finally get there, we get a billionaire of our own… Chelsea and Man City fans don’t seem to be complaining about Abramovich and Sheikh though, they seem to quite like it in fact.
If we get a billionaire investor, that would leave Man United as the only major english club not to have one. I imagine their ‘fans’ will get quite big headed about that.
I loathe both Kroenke and Dangote (also Usmanov) if they were to become owners in the same way as Abramovich to be honest. However, one may ask with all that money Dangote has why doesn’t he actually do something useful for Nigerian people. Like, I don’t know, build some schools, clean the water or fight ebola or something.
Well I’m no expert, but from what I’ve seen he’s actually well liked in Nigeria and does help the community. But surely you can ask that question of any billionaire.
nonsense don’t talk what you don’t know, he donated money for Ebola, he has invest a lot in nigeria and right now he is trying to kill power failure in Lagos
So what’s stop him to invest more in order to totally eradicate ebola or the lack of education, to clean the water, to give fair wages and so on? Ah, correct, Arsenal. He must buy the club. Sorry Nigerian people, you will be famous for one person from your country owning the club finishing 3rd in the season 2014-15 of the EPL. Got to be something.
why didn’t bill gate invest more to eradicate Ebola?
go sleep I don’t have your time
Dangote is a massive arsenal fan and strikes me as the kind of person who loves the club…….that is the most important thing to be considered……..if he was criticized for not investing in Nigerian league, then d critics are idiots….im a Nigerian and I won’t advise my enemy to invest in Nigerian league……not because its bad business but the level of corruption is rii high……call me stingy but I want him to buy the club…..do u knw how it feels when u invest in a club u love and they win the champions league under ur leadership….its beta than ecstasy
Don’t be selfish. With that money he can actually do something really good for the poor Nigerian people.
Yoh Budd are you racist, dude?…coz if you are just put it out and stop beating around the bush. I think you should know that Africans are capable and for your information Nigeria has no reported Ebola cases.
Africa is a continent not a country!
I just don’t trust this guy. I prefer the ownership remain the same or the Russian guy squires more shares and control. Not Nigeria no, a BIG NO
i was disappointed that FFP rules have just gone out of the window and we can thank Platini for that just so he can help PSG now look according to Budd they have already offered 125 million euros for Ronaldo who is next Sanchez Messi ??
So i think Stan Kroenke’s of this world won’t stand a chance of competing against teams like PSG or City with owners who are making over 25 Billion profit every year from their oil and other interests and that’s after all their outgoings whether its their private jet’s holiday homes all over the world ect ect
its gloomy future for football one or two teams win everything
Weird how no one said a word when it was Barcelona and Real Madrid that unfairly raised tv money which gave them a massive advantage so they could dominate European football for years. But the Premier League gets a new tv deal and all of a sudden European clubs start crying that the whole world will end so ffp must be scrapped.
@Mick The Gooner
i totally agree with you its Platini his worst then Sepp Blatter
they are both 2 sides of the same coin
Is not me 🙂 I am not leo to “know” everything around transfer market. This news is in all papers today (Spain, UK, Italy etc). Some believe it holds water, some simply don’t bother. Paying 125 million (~ 90 mil pounds) for a 30 yrs old winger it is insane. Yet, some people will do it and yes, some players will accept it. Since I am poor I don’t understand what someone can do with 125 million, to me this can be a dilemma, a question of life and death.
I guarantee you that Wenger will sign more player(s). He or they may be world class, above average players or just youth players or perhaps all of the above but Wenger will sign another player of some type at least.
I have a strong feeling that we will NOT get a new DM. I always had doubts that Wenger would get one as he prefers attacking. As long as Coquelin is mostly injury free, then this should not be a major concern. Also, the fact we have a WC keeper will help our defense overall
Maybe a defender, most probably someone who can play LB. Maybe also an attacker of some kind.
Question is will anymore players leave ie Flamini, Sanogo, Campbell etc. I’m fine with Arteta staying but I don’t see the point in the above three staying. Flamini has lost it. Sanogo doesn’t look like he has a promising future. Campbell hasn’t improved much.
…Ok , so Juventus are preparing a €60m bid for chelsea’s star Oscar to serve as a first choice replacement for Arturo Vidal who along with Pogba could leave this summer as they have been continuously linked with clubs (arsenal?) In europe.
is Oscar a DM?? cause based on Arsenal fans…Vidal is a DM…
I think Vidal is not really a DM but more of a box 2 box midfield player whose defensive skills-set can work wonders on the pitch..he’s good in scoring goals too…a typical kind of player AW would want.
Hector Bellerin has changed his squad number from #39 to #24 [Abou Diaby’s old number], while Chuba Akpom has changed from #38 to #31 Carl Jenkinson in line for new Arsenal contract with an improvement on his current £35,000 a week deal before leaving on loan
Besides a top Striker and DM….
We need a top LW tooo…Alexis cant play every game…which player in the team is able to replace Alexis and carry the team when Alexis gets injured???
I believe you do not have passion for arsenal, so writing sth dull as this is alright afterall all opinion are allowed even the thoughtless ones as this. If you know that it is asians that are his managers, then you must be a complete disgruntled and guileless commentator. this is not the first article, I wish it is the last about this buying a great club for popularity on a cheap.