Aliko Dangote wants to buy Arsenal Football Club

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote has caused a stir by announcing he would like to buy Arsenal. Dangote may not be well-known to English fans but he certainly has the money to achieve his dream should the current majority shareholder Stan Kroenke give him any encouragement. Sportsmail takes a closer look at the billionaire with ambitions to join the Premier League elite.
He's a 57-year-old Nigerian who has amassed a fortune by becoming majority shareholder in giant cement, flour and sugar companies. Dangote Sugar supplies 90 per cent of Nigeria's 170million population - that is a lot of sales. He is also building a private oil refinery in one of the country's jungle swamps which is due for completion in 2018.

HOW RICH IS HE?

Forbes have him down as the 67th richest person in the world with a fortune of more than £12billion. It would make him the wealthiest owner in the Premier League, almost twice as rich as Roman Abramovich, who is listed at No 137. He hails from a family of entrepreneurs in Nigeria's second city Kano, and his uncle gave him a loan at 21 to start his own business empire.

IS HE AN IMPORTANT PERSON?

A recent survey called him the second most powerful black man in the world behind US President Barack Obama. He is one of the continent's prime movers-and-shakers and Obama made sure he met him when giving a speech in Soweto in 2013. When America comes up with a business and anti-terrorism strategy for Africa, Dangote is one of the first figures they would consult with.

WHAT IS THE ARSENAL CONNECTION?

When he was a mere billionaire rather than multi-billionaire, Dangote tried to buy a 15 per cent stake in Arsenal from Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who eventually sold to Kroenke. With Boko Haram still a threat in Nigeria, it makes sense for Dangote to diversify his interests and earn greater international crediblity, as Abramovich has done. And as he gets richer with Nigeria possessing so many natural resources like oil, it becomes more feasible. With guaranteed worldwide television incomes running into billions, A-list businessmen are finding the top Premier League clubs increasingly attractive.

WHAT IS HIS LIFESTYLE LIKE?

He lives on Victoria Island, the most exclusive part of Nigeria's capital Lagos, in a mansion which has bulletproof windows as evidence of his vast wealth and allure for potential kidnappers. A Muslim, he studied business at Cairo University in Egypt and has three children. He has a reputation for being dapper right down to a well-maintained moustache.