The co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of online music streaming platform, Spotify, Daniel Ek, has intensified his drive to buy Premier League club, Arsenal. According to reports, 38-year-old Swedish billionaire is teaming up with Arsenal’s legends, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp in an attempt to buy the club.
Daniel Ek first made his interest to own the Premier League club known on April 23, about five days after Arsenal turn out to be one of the 12 top European clubs that signed up for the failed European Super League.
After the failure of the league and the withdrawal of Arsenal from the plan, the club’s fans intensified their call for the resignation of the club’s owner, Stan Kroenke.
Stan Kroenke has always been criticized for running Arsenal as a company and from his home country, the United States of America since 2018. The club’s fans want him to show more concern about what the fans want.
Instead, the affairs of the club are being controlled by his 40-year-old son, Josh Kroenke who acts as the club’s director. Criticism against Josh is that the American businessman is yet to understand the European football system as much as required for a director of a club as huge as Arsenal.
Due to the policies of the club, Arsenal is gradually become a mid-table club and hardly win titles, a development that is not pleasant to the club’s fans. The fans believe that if there is a change in ownership of the club, the club’s fortune might improve.
Hence, Daniel Ek attempts to take advantage of the mistrust among the fans against the current owner of the club, to take over the North London side. He claimed in his tweet that he has been a fan of the club and would “be happy to throw” his hat in the ring if Kroenke is willing to sell the club.
To show that he is determined to make that happen, a report by Telegraph claimed that he has brought in three members of Arsenal’s invincible team that won the 2003-2004 Premier League title – Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp, to fight for the ownership of the club.
I have it on good authority that Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira have joined Daniel Ek in his bid to buy Arsenal FC and I am told it is very real. #afc Story: https://t.co/jKhk28kZ9k
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) April 26, 2021
Henry has recently spoken against the ownership of the club over the club’s decision to sign up for the controversial European Super League. He and his other two former teammates are expected to be part of Daniel Ek’s Arsenal’s board if their bid is successful.
Daniel Ek is reportedly worth over €4.7 billion according to Forbes ranking. His music streaming company, Spotify, is also said to be worth about $67 billion.
As it stands, it is left to be seen whether Daniel Ek would make his bid more official and whether he would be the sole financier of the bid.
