Africa's richest businessman Aliko Dangote plans to buy Arsenal

Aliko Dangote who is from Nigeria is a big fan of Arsenal

Aliko Dangote who is a billionaire from Nigeria says that he wants to buy Arsenal Football Club according to a BBC report. Dangote feels that the oil refinery which he is building in Nigeria will give the funds necessary to complete the takeover of the London based club.

Dangote who has an estimated wealth of £11.5bn says that he has been an Arsenal fan since 1980s. "When we get this refinery on track, I will have enough time and enough resources to pay what they are asking for," the 58-year-old was quoted by BBC.

Currently, the majority shareholder of Arsenal is Stan Kroenke who has a sare of 66.64%. Meanwhile, Alisher Usmanov has a stake of 29.11% and the remaining 62,217 shares are held by shareholders which include Arsenal Supporters' Trust and former players.

Dangote who is 67th on the Forbes rich list was earlier interested in buying 15.9% stake but decided to pulled out of the bid. The shares were eventually bought by Stan Kroenke in 2001.

"There were a couple of us who were rushing to buy, and we thought with the prices then, the people who were interested in selling were trying to go for a kill," Dangote added.

"We backtracked, because we were very busy doing other things, especially our industrialisation." Dangote feels that Arsenal would be a more successful club had the ownership been different.

"They are doing well, but they need another strategic direction. They need more direction than the current situation, where they just develop players and sell them."