Africa’s richest man and chairman of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote has expressed his disappointment over not purchasing Arsenal football club when he had the opportunity.
![I Regret Not Purchasing Arsenal Football Club For $2 Billion – Aliko Dangote [Video]](https://media.kanyidaily.com/2024/09/24151104/Dangote.jpg "I Regret Not Purchasing Arsenal Football Club For $2 Billion – Aliko Dangote [Video] 1")
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in New York, the Nigerian billionaire looked back on the missed chance, having previously considered buying the club for $2 billion.
Dangote said he initially planned to pursue the purchase after completing his refinery project.
However, he noted that the club’s value has significantly increased, and they are now performing well, making a potential purchase much more expensive—around $4 billion.
The billionaire said he prefers to allocate his resources to other endeavors and emphasized his commitment as a fan of Arsenal, stating he will continue to support the team and watch their games.
He said, “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 expressed regret for not buying the club when it was valued at $2 billion, but stressed that he prioritized funding his refinery project over the football investment.
“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 added.
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KanyiDaily recalls that in 2029, Aliko Dangote revealed his plans to buy Arsenal football club by 2021.
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