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Orji Kalu hints at buying 35% of Arsenal’s stake

By Guardian Nigeria
20 November 2020   |   11:44 am
A Nigerian senator Orji Kalu has declared his intention to buy a 35 per cent stake of the Premier League club Arsenal, The Sun UK reported. “As the pillar of sports in Africa, I am considering an investment in football and I will buy 35 per cent stake in Arsenal FC," he said. “Our target…

A Nigerian senator Orji Kalu has declared his intention to buy a 35 per cent stake of the Premier League club Arsenal, The Sun UK reported.

“As the pillar of sports in Africa, I am considering an investment in football and I will buy 35 per cent stake in Arsenal FC,” he said.

“Our target is to lift the Champions League and EPL, and valuable investment as well,” he added.

The former Abia State governor, however, did not give a timeline to fulfill his decision.

According to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual, Arsenal worth €719 million after it fell to the 10th most valuable football club in the world for 2020. The club’s value dropped by 18.8% as shown by the data.

One of the main reasons the club’s value continue to dip is because Arsenal have struggled to regain their position as a Champions League club.

Kalu believes getting the 35 per cent of Arsenal could help “to bring back trophies” to the north London club.

Kalu had previously backed Nigerian club Enyimba FC, helping them dominate the local football scene for a period.

He is also hoping to forge a partnership between Arsenal and Enyimba.

“With Arsenal we will make Enyimba great again with the strategic partnership we are packaging,” he said.

“We shall turn it around to create a platform for more of our professional players seeking international exposure.

“A win-win outing for all parties.”

Kalu is not the only Nigerian who has expressed desire to invest in Arsenal.

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has previously declared his ambition to take over Arsenal in its entirety.

The Nigerian businessman in March hinted he could buy Arsenal in 2021, if a number of multi-billion dollar projects for his company are completed on time.

“It is a team that, yes, I would like to buy someday, but what I keep saying is we have $20 billion (£15 billion) worth of projects and that’s what I really want to concentrate on,” Dangote told the David Rubenstein Show.

“I’m trying to finish building the company and then, after we finish, maybe sometime in 2021 we can.

“I’m not buying Arsenal right now, I’m buying Arsenal when I finish all these projects because I’m trying to take the company to the next level.”

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