Alisher Usmanov Bids $1.3bn To Take Control At Arsenal
Reuters / Stefan Wermuth
Arsenal’s minority shareholder and Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has offered $1.3bn to Stan Kroenke, the majority shareholder, to take control of the club.
Usmanov submitted the offer last month, but Kroenke is adamant to not give up his 67% shares, which grant him the power over operations at Arsenal. According to reports, Kroenke has yet to formally respond.
Metal magnate Usmanov has his stake at 30% shares in the current scenario, which makes him the minority shareholder.
Along with the ‘Wenger Out’ protests, there have been questions over Kroenke’s ownership at Arsenal. Usmanov, having sensed the discontent at the club, has tried to take control over ownership and operations of Arsenal.
The Russian businessman is not a part of the board, and has no say in decision making at the club. Usmanov has often been critical of Kroenke in the past, as he feels he can do better than the American owner. The Russian openly criticized Kroenke in April, when he said: “Kroenke must bear huge responsibility for Arsenal’s failure on the pitch.”
On the other hand, Kroenke has reacted to the offer by affirming of his responsibility and aspirations towards the club. The American says he is keen to win Premier League with Arsenal, and wants the Gunners to be a force in Europe.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are about to miss out on Champions League football for the first time under Arsene Wenger. They will need Liverpool to drop points against a relegated Middlesborough to have any chance of making it into the Champions League next season.
Written by Shorya Panwar 
Has 20+ years of experience managing Schalke in Football Manager 2017. Believes wing-backs are the most complete footballers in the modern/evolved football. Writes weird stuff on his personal blog.