Arsenal could be approaching a shock takeover involving Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek and three former Gunners.
According to The Telegraph, Ek is teaming up with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira in a bid to buy Arsenal from Stan Kroenke in the fallout from the club’s involvement in the collapsed Super League.
The north London side were one of six Premier League teams set to take part in the breakaway competition, which was announced on 18 April but began to fall apart two days later as the English clubs began to withdraw amid pressure from fans, players, coaches and pundits from all corners of the sport.
Despite Arsenal’s exit from that project, supporters protested American Kroenke’s ownership of the club this week, with many of them making their opinions known outside the Emirates Stadium ahead of their side’s 1-0 home defeat by Everton on Friday.
Fans’ wishes of new ownership might in fact be granted if the takeover bid said to involve Ek, Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira is genuine and successful.
Here’s all we know so far:
Who is Daniel Ek?
Ek is a co-founder of Spotify and the music streaming platform’s CEO.
The Swede, whose net worth is $4.7billion – per Forbes – has said he is a lifelong Arsenal fan.
On Friday, Ek tweeted: “As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE [Kroenke Sports & Entertainment] would like to sell Arsenal I’d be happy to throw my hat in the ring.”
Who else is involved?
According to The Telegraph’s report, Arsenal greats Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira – all part of the ‘Invincibles’ side of 2003/04 – are teaming up with Ek as part of the potential takeover.
Would Stan Kroenke sell?
KSE completed a takeover of Arsenal back in 2011, before taking full control in 2018.
Last week, Kroenke’s son Josh – who is a non-executive director at Arsenal – said the club is not for sale.
What do the fans think?
As Ek expressed his interest in buying the club last week, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said they “will support any potential purchaser who will allow fans to own a real equity stake and give fans a meaningful say in how our club is run”.
The trust played a key role in making #KroenkeOut a top trend on Twitter last week.
