LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 23: Arsenal fans hold placards during a protest against the club's owner Stan Kroenke ahead of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Everton, outside Emirates Stadium on April 23, 2021 in London, England. The protest, which takes place amid growing discontent over the running Arsenal FC, was sparked by the club's recent involvement in the European Super League. There was uproar from football fans across the country earlier this week when six major Premier League football clubs, including Arsenal, announced that they were to join the controversial "closed-shop" tournament. Each club has subsequently withdrawn from the competition. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) “We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the club,” Kroenke Sports & Entertainment said in a statement Tuesday. “We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.”
The statement comes after a tempestuous few days for Arsenal and the other five English clubs who signed up for the aborted Super League-project eight days ago. The uproar that erupted after the announcement had led to talk that some of the owners might consider selling their teams.
Spotify founder Daniel Ek said last week on social media that he’d be happy to “throw my hat in the ring” if Kroenke Sports was interested in selling. Media reports suggested former star players Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira would be part of an Ek bid.
Kroenke, who’s worth $9.7 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, owns all of the London-based team after taking it private several years ago in a deal valuing the club at $2.3 billion.
Arsenal fans have long complained about his ownership as the team slipped in the Premier League. Those protests have intensified since news of the Super League and last Friday several hundred fans gathered outside the team’s north London stadium with chants of “Kreonke out.”
“Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this.”
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