Daniel Ek says he made a formal offer for Arsenal Football Club this week and explains how the Kroenkes responded to the bid.

Daniel Ek Spotify
Daniel Ek Spotify

On Saturday, Daniel Ek felt the need to post a statement on Twitter to dispel the rumours that he hadn’t followed up on his promise to make a bid for Arsenal Football Club.

The Spotify billionaire explained that he had indeed made an offer to Josh Kroenke and their bankers, but got the response that “they don’t need the money”. Ek claims he remains interested and available if the situation changes. He also took the opportunity to explain how he sees the club operating under his ownership.

The statement read, “Inaccurate reports emerged today saying I have not made a bid for Arsenal Football Club. I think it’s important to correct the record – this week an offer was made to both Josh Kroenke and their bankers that included fan ownership, representation at the board and a golden share for the supporters. They replied that they don’t need the money. I respect their decision but remain interested and available should that situation ever change.”

Various outlets had reported earlier this month that Ek would make a bid for Arsenal, with Thierry Henry confirming the plan as he backed the takeover plan alongside Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira.

Ek also met with the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust to assure them of plans to make the role of fans central to their proposals.

When there were no further updates in the following weeks, the cynical interpretation was that Ek had got his PR boost and never actually intended to buy Arsenal. Some will still argue that same point even after his latest statement.

It was certainly always unlikely that the Kroenkes would accept Ek’s bid, and he must have known that going in.

Maybe he wanted to express his interest anyway because he’s a true fan and this is the first step in his long-term plan to own the club, or maybe he knew it was a bit of good publicity. Either way, we’re stuck with KSE for a while longer.