Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, is still nurturing his long-term dream of purchasing Premier League giants, Arsenal.
The 59-year-old, who is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 67th richest person in the world and the richest in Africa, has never hidden his admiration for the London club.
The business mogul announced his intention to buy the club last year.
However, he now admits it could take a little while for that to happen as he is waiting for his business prospects to improve and his investments in gas pipelines and an oil refinery to play out before making the acquisition.
“There’s no doubt” and “it’s not a problem” of money, Dangote said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York on Wednesday.
“Maybe three to four years. The issue is that we have more challenging headwinds. I need to get those out the way first and start having tailwinds. Then I’ll focus on this.”
Dangote has lost $4.4 billion this year, the fourth most of anyone globally, due mainly to the depreciation of Nigeria’s currency, the billionaires index shows.
The bulk of his wealth is tied up in Lagos-based Dangote Cement Plc, whose stock is down 4.7 percent this year.
An acquisition of the team would make him the first African owner of a team in the Premier League.
“It’s not about buying Arsenal and just continuing with business as usual,” he said.
“It’s about buying Arsenal and turning it around. I’ve run a very successful business and I think I can also run a very successful team. Right now, with what we’re facing, over $20 billion of projects, I cannot do both.”
While Arsenal has won 13 top flight league titles in England, making it one of the country’s most successful sides, its last was in 2004.
Arsenal Holdings Plc, the owner, trades on the ICAP Securities & Derivatives Exchange, or ISDX, and has a market capitalisation of 1billion pounds ($1.3 billion).
