I regret not buying Arsenal when it was worth $2 billion - Dangote

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote says he regrets not buying Arsenal when the club was valued for less.

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group said he wished he had bought the London-based club when it was valued at around $2 billion.

During an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in New York, the billionaire business mogul explained that he missed the opportunity to buy Arsenal due to committing his resources to the refinery project.

He said, “I think that time has passed. The last time when we had this interview, I told you as soon as I finish with the refinery, I am going to try and buy Arsenal.

“But you know everything has gone up and the club too is doing very well, Arsenal is doing extremely well right now. That time Arsenal wasn’t doing well.

“I think I don’t have that kind of excess liquidity to go and buy a club for $4 billion so to speak and use it as a promotional something.

“But what I will do is to continually be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games anytime they are playing. So, I will remain a major supporter of Arsenal but I don’t think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.’

When asked if he regretted not buying when Arsenal’s value was lower, he said, “Actually, I regret not buying it before but you know my money was more needed in completing my project (Dangote refinery) than buying Arsenal. I would have bought the club for $2 billion but you know I wouldn’t have been able to finish my project. So, It was either I finish my project or go and buy Arsenal.”

In 2020, Dangote announced his intention to pursue ownership of the North London club after completing his refinery project.

As the richest man in Africa, Dangote founded the Dangote Group in 1981, which is the largest conglomerate in West Africa.