Sports

Stan Kroenke’s Stance On Arsenal Sale Amid Dangote Bid Has Been Revealed

Published

3 years ago

November 8, 2022

Arsenal owner, Stan Kroenke’s stance on the sale of Arsenal Football Club has been made crystal clear amid interest from Nigerian Billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote.

Aliko Dangote has publically stated on several occasions his wish to become Arsenal owner: “It is a team that yes I would like to buy someday, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion worth of projects and that’s what I really want to concentrate on,” he said as recently as January 2020. “I’m trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe sometime in 2021 we can.

The Gunners are estimated to be worth $2.05bn (£1.7bn), but is Stan Kroenke – who became the club’s sole owner back in September 2018 – in a position where he too is open to the full sale of Arsenal Football Club in the near future?

Well, his son Josh, has already emphatically made the stance crystal clear.

Infoexpert24 recalls that while speaking to Sky Sports in late 2021, he said: “We get bids for the club all the time, from many different parties around the world and that speaks to the strength of the Arsenal. It’s a wonderful institution, Arsenal Football Club is a global brand and my only response to anything is the club is not for sale, we’re just getting started.

“We’ve only really owned the club since 2018. We have a young manager, we have a young squad and we’re charting our path to the future. In the United States we have a certain model [used at other organisations run by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment] and we’re implementing that here, and we have over the last three years, which is, young players, talented players with the right mentality, let them grow together while continuing to sprinkle in talent throughout the squad.

“Eventually it grows into something very special. The power of continuity behind the scenes and people working together and pulling in the same direction is an underrated aspect of pro sports. With the power of continuity and allowing this group to grow together, special times are ahead for this club.”

One of the bids Kroenke is most likely referring to is from Daniel Ek – the Swedish billionaire entrepreneur who is the co-founder of music streaming platform Spotify – who revealed his interest in purchasing the club from Kroenke and even had at least one offer rejected.

Ek’s proposed takeover was genuine and Gunners legend Thierry Henry confirmed his involvement thus during an appearance on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme following victory in the North London Derby against Spurs last season.

But ultimately with KSE [Kroenke Sports & Entertainment] standing firm on their refusal to sell, unless this stance has changed then Arsenal won’t be following in Liverpool’s footsteps anytime soon which means Ek, Dangote, and any other billionaire with hopes of purchasing the club could be waiting for a very long time.