Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that he abandoned plans to buy English football club Arsenal because he chose to prioritise the completion of the $20 billion Dangote Refinery project instead.
Dangote made the disclosure during a recent podcast interview with Nicolai Tangen, the Chief Executive Officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, where he reflected on his long-standing interest in acquiring the Premier League club.
According to the businessman, Arsenal was valued at around $2 billion at the time he was seriously considering a takeover, but he ultimately decided that committing such resources to football ownership could affect the progress of his refinery project.
Dangote explained that while he remained passionate about Arsenal, he was simultaneously focused on ensuring the successful completion of the refinery, which had already become one of the largest industrial projects in Africa.
“I’m a big Arsenal fan, yes, I nearly bought the team,” he said during the interview.
He noted that he had to weigh the possibility of investing billions into the football club against continuing to build and expand his business interests, eventually deciding that completing the refinery was the more important priority.
Dangote said he chose to remain a loyal supporter of Arsenal rather than pursue ownership, adding that the club’s current valuation has made the idea of a takeover even less realistic.
“Today they are worth billions, and it’s not really worth my while at all,” he said.
Despite stepping away from any ownership ambitions, Dangote said his support for Arsenal has not changed, adding that he still wears the club’s shirt whenever they are playing.
Speaking more broadly during the conversation, the billionaire also shared a message for young Africans, encouraging them to work hard and maintain faith in the continent’s future.
He described Africa as a land full of opportunity and urged young people to believe that the future can be better than the continent’s current realities.
Dangote had been linked publicly with a possible Arsenal takeover for more than 15 years, with speculation around his interest resurfacing repeatedly over the years as his business empire expanded.
