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Legend Wright blasts Kroenke following Gunners buy-out bid
IAN WRIGHT has accused Stan Kroenke of sucking the feelgood factor out of Arsenal by launching a bid to take full control of the club.
Kroenke has won his power struggle with rival billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has agreed to sell his 30 per cent stake in the Gunners to the American businessman for around £550million.
It is a change of stance from Usmanov, who rejected a £525m offer from Kroenke in October. Russian Usmanov also failed with a bid to buy out Kroenke in May 2017.
Kroenke’s bid puts Arsenal’s value at £1.8billion. And with Kroenke already owning 67 per cent of Arsenal through his company, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), his deal with Usmanov takes him beyond the 90 per cent threshold at which it becomes mandatory to buy all remaining shares.
Gunners legend Wright (circle), who was looking forward to the campaign under new boss Unai Emery, said: “Incredibly sad day for so many of our fan shareholders that they no longer own a part of this club.
“Imagine if this wasn’t only about money, but about the club, the community and the fans –all this new enthusiasm we are witnessing with Unai wouldn’t feel like such a waste.”
Kroenke’s move has been greeted with dismay by supporters as the club will now be privately owned by Kroenke. The days of fans owning shares and being able to have their say at the AGM are over, reducing their influence on how the club is run. A statement from the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said: “This news marks a dreadful day for Arsenal Football Club.
“The AST is wholly against this takeover. Arsenal remains too important to be owned by any one person.” Kroenke (above) will have to spend more than £600m to complete his full takeover, but just £45.4m of that is from his own money with the rest coming from a highinterest loan.
But a KSE statement said: “The offer is not being funded by way of any debt finance.
“KSE’s ambitions for the club are to see it competing consistently to win the Premier League and the Champions League, as well as the major trophies in the women’s senior game and at youth level.”
Usmanov said: “I wish all the best and great success to this wonderful football club.”