Dangote: I regret I didn’t buy Arsenal

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has admitted he has regrets he did not buy Premier League club Arsenal.

Billionaire Dangote is a big fan of Arsenal and at a time had the chance to pay $2 Billion to own the London Gunners.

“I regret I did not buy Arsenal before, I would have bought it for $2 Billion,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

“My money was needed to complete my project (the refinery) than by buying Arsenal.

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“If I had bought the club, I would not have been able to finish my refinery.

“The best decision was to complete the refinery.

“All the same, I remain the biggest fan of the club and watch them whenever they play.

In a related development, a football enthusiast, David Mtu, has called on Africa’s richest man to consider investing in Nigerian football.

Going down memory lane, the procurement expert recalled how in the past, wealthy Nigerians like the late Chief MkO Abiola and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, contributed significantly to football development in Nigeria by sponsoring formidable clubs.

“It is a good thing that Aliko Dangote is interested in football sponsorship. This is not coming as a surprise because he is a known fan of Arsenal football club.

“But since charity begins at home, it will not be bad for him to first invest in one of the clubs in the Nigeria Premier Football League. In the past, we had big clubs in the Nigeria professional league like Abiola Babes, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Ranchers Bees, Udoji United and Gabros FC which were sponsored by wealthy individuals,” he said.

Mtu, who is also a die-hard fan of Arsenal, however, called on organisers of the Nigeria Premier League (NPFL) to make it attractive enough for business oriented Nigerians like Dangote to invest in it.