{"id":478,"date":"2026-05-18T19:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/dangote-explains-why-he-passed-on-arsenal-bid-over-refinery-priorities\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T19:55:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T16:55:19","slug":"dangote-explains-why-he-passed-on-arsenal-bid-over-refinery-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/dangote-explains-why-he-passed-on-arsenal-bid-over-refinery-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangote explains why he passed on Arsenal bid over refinery priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has explained why he never went through with a bid for Arsenal, saying the completion of his Dangote Refinery mattered more than any chance to become a club owner.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Dangote said his decision not to buy Arsenal came down to priorities behind the Dangote Refinery.<\/li>\n<li>He revealed he was close to purchasing the club when it was valued at roughly $2 billion.<\/li>\n<li>Dangote chose to remain a supporter rather than take an ownership role.<\/li>\n<li>He noted Arsenal\u2019s valuation has grown significantly since that period, making a deal unattractive now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Refinery goal outweighed football ambition<\/h2>\n<p>In an interview with Nicolai Tangen, the chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management, Dangote said he considered making a move at a time when Arsenal\u2019s estimated value stood around $2 billion.<\/p>\n<p>He said the key issue was whether putting that money into the club would undermine his wider business plans, particularly the push to finish the refinery. Dangote framed the decision as a choice between investing in Arsenal and safeguarding the refinery\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cShould I buy Arsenal or keep the business moving?\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Dangote, who described himself as a major Arsenal fan, said: \u201cI\u2019m a big Arsenal fan. Yes, I nearly bought the team.\u201d He added that while he was considering an acquisition, he was simultaneously focused on completing the refinery.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that with Arsenal valued at about $2 billion at the time, he questioned whether to allocate his $2 billion to the club and risk damaging the business\u2014or to continue driving the business forward while remaining a committed supporter.<\/p>\n<h2>Backed Arsenal as a fan, not an owner<\/h2>\n<p>Dangote said he decided to keep supporting Arsenal from the stands rather than from the boardroom.<\/p>\n<p>He said he continues to watch the team\u2019s matches and that whenever Arsenal play, he wears the jersey. In his view, remaining a fan was the better route, allowing him to continue funding his business without splitting focus.<\/p>\n<h2>Arsenal\u2019s rising valuation ended the idea<\/h2>\n<p>Dangote also pointed out that Arsenal\u2019s valuation has increased sharply since he first considered an investment, meaning any potential purchase would no longer make sense.<\/p>\n<p>He said that today the club is worth far more and that, as a result, it is \u201cnot worth it\u201d to pursue an acquisition at the current level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has explained why he never went through with a bid for Arsenal, saying the completion of his Dangote Refinery mattered more than any chance to become a club owner. Key takeaways Dangote said his decision not to buy Arsenal came down to priorities behind the Dangote Refinery. He revealed he was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Dangote Explains Arsenal Bid Decision, Refinery Priorities","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Dangote reveals he turned down an Arsenal bid because finishing the Dangote Refinery took priority, despite being close to buying ","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dangote Explains Arsenal Bid Decision, Refinery Priorities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dangote reveals he turned down an 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