A few days ago it was announced that Spotify founder, Daniel Ek was gearing up to launch a takeover bid for Arsenal F.C.
The Swedish-born Ek, who is worth over 6 billion AUD, is set to make a formal offer to buy the club from the current owner Stan Kroenke. Ek planned to team up with three former Arsenal FC champion players: Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Viera.
Ek is expected to make the offer in the coming days, within the realm of £1.8 billion, as reported by Sky News.
Now in an updated report as per Billboard, Ek has issued an update on the situation. He said, “I am very serious. I have secured the funds for it. And I want to bring what I think is a very compelling offer to the owners, and I hope they hear me out.”
As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I'd be happy to throw my hat in the ring.
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 23, 2021
Furthermore, Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment who currently owns the English Premier League club have stated that they are ‘unwilling to sell the team’. Arsenal director, Josh Kroenke recently said, “When are we going to sell? I am not willing to answer that question because we have no intention of selling.”
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The Kroenke clan have faced strong criticism from fans for reportedly going against the club’s culture and traditions.
Henry recently said in an interview that he feels that he no longer recognises the Arsenal he once knew.
He said, “This club belongs to the fans, I love the club and I will support the club until I die, but I do not recognise my club and what happened just now, with them trying to join a league that would have been closed, makes no sense to me.”
“They have been running the club like a company, not a football club, and they showed their hand. Maybe it’s a lack of understanding of the core football values and maybe the money was too big of a temptation. But whatever it was, they got it wrong. Badly wrong.”
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Check out the interview with Daniel Ek below.
