AN AFRICAN businessman has put the purchase of Premier League Arsenal on his 2021 wishlist. The richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has revealed his plans to buy the Gunners next year.

The Nigerian boasts a net worth of more than £8.5billion and made his fortune after founding Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer – with the 62-year-old also owning stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.

He had promised a takeover bid in 2020 but, with his Dangote Refinery – set to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries – still under construction, he has moved the date back. 

“It is a team that, yes, I would like to buy some day, but what I keep saying is we have $20billion 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 some time 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.”