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Swedish billionaire founder of Spotify wants to buy Arsenal after fans demand American Stan Kroenke sell the club

Apr 24, 2021, 02:24 IST
Insider
Spotify founder Daniel Ek.TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images
  • Arsenal fans are still fuming over the club's attempt to join the breakaway European Super League.
  • Supporters outside the stadium on Friday demanded that American owner Stan Kroenke sell the team.
  • Swedish billionaire Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, expressed interest in buying the club.
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The European Super League crashed and burned within 48 hours of being announced, but clubs that attempted to join the new competition are still dealing with the fallout of their decision.

Over the weekend, 12 of the richest clubs in European soccer announced that they would be forming their own league, protecting themselves from relegation and keeping massive profits for themselves. The news sparked immediate outrage from fans, commentators, and players alike, and before long, there was enough public pressure to force teams to back out of their decision to join the renegade league.

While the Super League is off for now, fans are still voicing their anger at the greed that drove the clubs to attempt their coup of world soccer.

Outside of Arsenal's stadium ahead of the club's Premier League match against Everton on Friday, supporters gathered to demand that Stan Kroenke, the American owner of the club, sell the team.

Let's just say the chants the supporters had for the American owner feature a bit of colourful language.

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Kroenke, who through Kroenke Sports and Entertainment also owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and several other professional sports teams, began his ownership of Arsenal with just a fraction of the team in 2007, before taking over as the club's sole owner in 2018.

Given that the launch of the Super League was, in part, driven by the American owners of several Premier League clubs, Kroenke included, it's no surprise that Arsenal supporters are still angry with the supposed steward of their club.

While it's not clear if Kroenke has any interest in selling the club amidst the fans' fervor, he does already have an interested buyer.

Daniel Ek, the Swedish billionaire behind music-streaming giant Spotify, said on Twitter that if the opportunity came about, he'd be happy to take a swing at buying the club.

"As a kid growing up, I've cheered for @Arsenal as long as I can remember," Ek wrote. "If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I'd be happy to throw my hat in the ring."

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While the details of a multi-billion dollar deal won't be hammered out on Twitter, Ek at least seems ready to step to the table to negotiate. The rest depends on if Kroenke has any interest in actually selling the club.

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