Daniel Ek to make formal offer to buy Arsenal

Ek wants to buy his boyhood club Arsenal
Ek wants to buy his boyhood club Arsenal / Drew Angerer/Getty Images
facebooktwitterreddit

Daniel Ek is expected to make a formal offer to buy Arsenal from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment this week, after Thierry Henry confirmed that takeover talks are going ahead.

A boyhood Arsenal fan, Spotify owner Ek tweeted last week that he'd be happy to 'throw his hat in the ring' to buy the club from the Kroenkes, and it was reported last week that he had secured the funds to go ahead with a substantial bid.

He has received overwhelming support from Arsenal fans who are keen to see the back of the current owners following their involvement in the short-lived Super League. And The Telegraph are now reporting that he will make a 'formal offer' by the end of this week, worth in the region of €1.8bn.

He is expected to bring Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp on board, and the former confirmed there is substance to the takeover reports when he spoke on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

"I know a lot of people wanted to hear about it," he said. "It is true. Daniel is an Arsenal fan, he didn't say it for any publicity. He is an Arsenal fan for a very long time.

"He already - I'll give you something - reached out [to the Kroenkes] and already said himself that he had collected the funds to make sure that he can put in a good bid.

Thierry Henry
Henry is set to be heavily involved in the proposed Arsenal takeover / Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

"They now need to listen. A lot of people have been screaming that they want the owner out. We are trying to offer a solution involving the fans and getting the DNA of the club back.

"There needs to be a discussion, but he reached out. I think it is going to be long and not easy - if it does ever happen. One thing that I want to reiterate is that Daniel will not move away, he will be there waiting to see if they want to sell.

"That is going to take a very long time, we know what we want to do, but first and foremost we need to make sure that we can take over, if they are listening."