Why Aliko Dangote must abandon Arsenal dream and buy Chelsea from Abramovich

Roman Abramovich is reportedly expected to receive and consider offers to sell Chelsea Football Club this week from multiple interest potential buyers.

The Russian billionaire relinquished control of Chelsea amid the tensions between his country and Ukraine and may now be forced to sell the club off totally.

That could present an opportunity for Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote to swoop in and fulfil his lifelong dream of owning a top Premier League club.

Although his heart has been set on Arsenal for almost the last decade, current owner Stan Kroenke has made it clear that he has no intention of selling.

”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. I'm trying to finish building the company and then after we finish, maybe sometime in 2021 we can.” Dangote said about Arsenal back in 2020.

Premier League clubs outside the top six are valued at between £150 million and £350 million while the top clubs go for at least £2 billion.

If his statement is to be believed, Dangote is now financially capable to buy a top Premier League club but with Kroenke still proving stubborn, it might be time to turn his attention away from Arsenal to their rivals, Chelsea.

Abramovich is under a lot of pressure personally right now because of his alleged link to Russian president Vladamir Putin which provides Dangote with an opportunity to swoop in and take advantage.

Abramovich has reportedly turned down bids of around £2.2 billion to buy Chelsea in the past but he was not in public distress at the time as he is now.

The previously rejected bids give Dangote who has a $14 billion net worth an idea of where to start bidding for and there is a better chance he might be successful this time with Roman Abramovich’s current predicament.

However, the caveat is that Chelsea owes Abramovich over £1.5 billion in loans according to a report by The Telegraph which could make any negotiation difficult because that would have to be paid along with whatever Roman considers a fair price to buy the club.

It is important to note that this is all theoretical, Aliko Dangote has not spoken publicly about Chelsea, we do not even know if he has any such intentions.

But it would be so good to see Nigeria and Africa’s richest man own Chelsea, a club with a huge following in Nigeria and Africa at large.