Spotify founder Daniel Ek has reportedly recruited three of Arsenal’s legendary Invincibles team as he prepares to buy the club from beleaguered owner Stan Kroenke.
The new report in The Telegraph comes after Ek, who is estimated to be worth £3.4billion, said on Twitter that he was interested in taking over the north London side.
“As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember,” Ek wrote last week.
“If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I’d be happy to throw my hat in the ring.”
It’s now believed that Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera and Dennis Bergkamp are all keen to work with Ek on his bid to take control of the club, and could be handed key roles if the move proves successful.
As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I'd be happy to throw my hat in the ring.
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) April 23, 2021
The Telegraph says that all three former players have expressed past desires to return to Arsenal, and Ek believes they have “invaluable” knowledge of the football club.
While they are expected to table a formal offer, Arsenal director Josh Kroenke is said to have made it clear to shareholders that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment have no plans to sell up.
Arsenal were condemned last week for their role in plans to join a newly constructed European Super League, a breakaway competition designed at rivalling the Champions League. The plans ultimately failed, with Henry one of many former players speaking out against the ESL concept.
Speaking against the move, Henry said: “This club belongs to the fans, I love the club and I will support the club until I die, but I do not recognise my club and what happened just now, with them trying to join a league that would have been closed, makes no sense to me.
“They have been running the club like a company, not a football club, and they showed their hand. Maybe it’s a lack of understanding of the core football values and maybe the money was too big of a temptation. But whatever it was, they got it wrong. Badly wrong.”
Ek’s takeover plans were also met with hostility from musicians such as Tim Burgess, who suggested that Ek sorted Spotify’s oft-criticised model of paying artists before he ventures into sports ownership.
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