Alisher Usmanov, who holds a 27 per cent stake in Arsenal, has made it clear that he wants a greater say in the running of the club. He has written to new majority shareholder Stan Kroenke asking for a meeting, but so far has had no response.
Alisher Usmanov, who holds a 27 per cent stake in Arsenal, has made it clear that he wants a greater say in the running of the club. He has written to new majority shareholder Stan Kroenke asking for a meeting, but so far has had no response.
Usmanov told the Sunday Times, ‘Despite being the owner of nearly a third of the club, I have been ignored in the past. I have a right to take part in the decision-making process over the future direction of the club.’ Usmanov said he had become a hostage in a feud between David Dein, the club’s former vice-president, who sold his 14 per cent stake to the tycoon in 2007, and Danny Fiszman, a director who sold his stake to Kroenke just before he died last month.
It is thought that there was a tacit agreement between shareholders to thwart all attempts by Usmanov to increase his stake. Umsanov said, ‘If I continue to be ignored I’ll have to rethink and act accordingly.’ However, his options are probably quite limited, although he could prove to be a thorn in the side of Stan Kroenke.
Usmanov in effect made an appeal to the fans by saying that Arsenal’s debts should not be shouldered by Arsenal fans through a rise in ticket prices. The Emirates stadium should be paid for by the shareholders, not the fans. By not selling his shares, he had stopped the club going private (a move that would be opposed by the Arsenal Shareholders’ Trust).
The Uzbek tycoon was ranked second in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £12.4bn. He has offered to make a further investment in the club, for example through an issue of new shares, but that is unlikely to happen.