Commodities billionaire Aliko Dangote, a long time die-hard Arsenal fan has promised to sack Arsene Wenger if he succeeds in buying the London-based Premier League club.
According to Forbes, Dangote is Africa’s richest man with a net worth of $12billion (£9.7b) and owns Dangote Group, a multimillion conglomerate with footprints all over the continent.
The Nigerian who has supported Arsenal since the early 80’s believes Arsenal’s majority shareholders, Stan Kroenke who owns 67.05% and Alisher Usmanov who owns 30.04% would be convinced to sell if the offers were made.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“If they got the right offer, am sure they would walk away. Someone will give them an offer that will make them consider walking away.”[/perfectpullquote]
He went on explaining the drastic changes he would make to the club, starting with the sacking of the current head coach.
Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996 leading the gunners to seven FA trophies, three Premier League trophies and a historic unbeaten league record between May 2003 and October 2004. He signed a new two-year contract amidst fan protests, despite finishing 5th last season a feat Dangote believes wasn’t right.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The first thing I would do is change the coach. He’s done a good job but someone else should try his luck,”[/perfectpullquote]
he explained to Bloomberg.
The 60-year-old has long sought after ownership of the north London club and believes he’ll be ready to table a bid once his current project – $11billion oil refinery in Nigeria’s capital Lagos – is done.
“When we finish the refinery, I think we shall be in a position to do that. It’s a great team, well-run. It could be better, so I will be there. I will wait. Even if things change, I will take it,” he said.
Dangote who counts Arsenal’s vice chairman David Dein as a close friend had earlier in September opened up about buying the club but is still limited by the magnitude of the projects he’s running.
“The issue is that we have more challenging winds. I need to get those out of the way and start having tailwinds then I will focus on that,” he added.
Featured Photo: Getty Images
