Spotify Founder Daniel Ek's Offer to Buy Arsenal Rejected by Kroenkes

Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek announced Saturday that he made a bid to buy Arsenal from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment but was rejected:

That will be a disappointing development for an Arsenal fan base that seems eager to be rid of the Kroenke family. The club failed to qualify for the Champions League for the fifth straight season this year and was one of six English clubs involved in the widely criticized announcement of the European Super League. 

“I’ve been an Arsenal fan since I was 8 years old,” Ek told CNBC last month. “Arsenal is my team. I love the history. I love the players and, of course, I love the fans, so as I look at that, I just see a tremendous opportunity to set a real vision for the club, to bring it back to its glory.”

Per Rob Bleaney of the Guardian, owner Stan Kroenke's asking price for the club is at least £2 billion ($2.8 billion), with some sources believing the actual price to be "considerably higher" than that number.

He added that Ek—who has reportedly "joined forces" with club legends Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira in an attempt to convince the Kroenkes to sell—is worth approximately £3.4 billion ($4.8 billion) and "figures close to the nascent consortium say he would have little problem amassing the sum necessary to tempt Kroenke into selling."

While his initial attempt was rebuffed, Ek may be in this pursuit for the long haul. 

“I certainly didn’t expect that this would happen overnight," he told CNBC. "I’m prepared that this could be a long journey.”