Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, 10th on Forbes’ rich list with an estimated wealth of £76.6 billion, may bid for English football club Arsenal instead of Manchester United or Liverpool, according to latest reports.
Earlier it was reported that Ambani may buy Liverpool and Manchester United when the US owners of these clubs announced plans to sell it.
However, sports portal the Athletic reported that Ambani’s son Akash, 31, is a big fan of Arsenal and hence the tycoon might be interested to bid for the club.
US billionaire Enos Stanley Kroenke is the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the holding company of Arsenal. According to reports, he had invested more than £270million in the last two summer transfer windows alone.
Kroenke was elevated to the board of directors of the club in 2018 and later he became the majority shareholder in 2021.
The United owners, the Glazer family, in November said that they are seeking outside investment. Liverpool-owners Fenway Sports Group also revealed that they plans to exit the business. But, no such announcement has so far come from the current owners of Arsenal.
Ambani, who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, owns Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai Indians. He runs India’s top-tier football tournament, the Indian Super League, besides being the commercial partners of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Following an outstanding start to the season, Arsenal is now enjoying a strong lead in the Premier League. Prior to the start of play after the World Cup, it leads the defending champions Manchester City by five points.
A buyer for United is being sought by The Raine Group, an investment banking company that orchestrated the sale of Chelsea to a group led by Todd Boehly in May. The consortium paid £2.5 billion for Chelsea. The Glazers are believed to be asking between £6 billion and £7 billion for United, with the goal of selling in the first quarter of 2023.
FSG purchased Liverpool for £300m just 12 years ago, and currently it has a minimum value of £3.3bn. However, the club chairman Tom Werner clarified that they are not in a rush to sell it.
According to the recent Hurun Global 500 report, Reliance Industries is the most-valued Indian company globally, with a valuation of £163bn.
