Arsenal will fall into the hands of Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa? Nigerian entrepreneur with estimated personal fortune, according to the latest ranking in the American magazine Forbes, at 9.2 billion euros, is a big fan of football. He is also a supporter of the English club which he plans to buy, why not in 2021, as he announced in mid-January, when the Gunners are currently being held by the American Stan Kroenke.
The latter, owner of the American football franchise the Los Angeles Rams, and who has interests in football, basketball and ice hockey clubs, had acquired the London team in August 2018 for a fee 600 million euros. But the sports results of Arsenal, sixth in the Premier League in 2018-2019 and currently tenth after twenty-three days, cause discontent among influential supporters. London fans are tired of their favorite club being dominated on the English stage by their rivals from Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City or Manchester United.
"At least a billion euros"
Arsenal is a publicly traded club, and its supporters are also shareholders. " For several years, they have complained about sports performances, and also about the lack of investments made to recruit players. The current situation can argue in favor of Dangote "Said Vincent Chaudel, founder of the Observatoire du sport business. Stan Kroenke might be tempted to get rid of the training, but not without realizing an added value.
Ranked eleventh richest club in the world by Deloitte, Arsenal remains a safe bet. And the Nigerian multibillionaire businessman can afford it. " His valuation is at least a billion euros, and he knows it. Whether the current owner plans to sell remains to be seen "Sums up Vincent Chaudel. Stan Kroenke has so far not responded to Aliko Dangote’s proposal, but one can imagine that informal contacts between the two sides have already taken place.
In the United Kingdom, many clubs, such as Chelsea, Wolverhampton, Manchester City, Liverpool or Leicester belong – like Arsenal – to foreign groups from Russia, the United States, China or the Arab Emirates. United. The question of the nationality of the owners does not therefore pose any particular problem. " If Dangote promises them a great project, the supporters will be attentive. From the moment there are ambitions, the way he built his fortune hardly interests them ”, continues Vincent Chaudel.
A real passion for the club
The businessman shares with Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, a real passion for Arsenal (the Rwandan state is also a sponsor of the club). But he does not plan to offer it without economic aims. The English Premier League, renowned for its financial strength which places it at the top of the world hierarchy, is the most widely distributed internationally. The spin-offs for the clubs are substantial.
In Nigeria, football fans are much more involved in the games of the English league than in their own country, as in many other Commonwealth member states. " Arsenal is an English club, but also a London club. And London, for Nigerian VIPs, is a stronghold ", Finally recalls Vincent Chaudel. Aliko Dangote could thus convince rich compatriots to embark with him on this adventure.
Currently, no European club is run by an African. The last experiment was attempted by the Egyptian billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, who had bought in 1997 Fulham, another London formation clearly less upscale than the Gunners, before ceding it in 2013 to the American-Pakistani businessman Shahid Khan.
