Exclusive: John Textor could cancel sale of Crystal Palace after Lyon relegation
John Textor may renege on his deal to sell his shares in Crystal Palace despite agreeing to a deal with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who explained to Football Insider exclusively that with a deal not yet signed off on by the Premier League, the current majority shareholder of the club could pull out of a deal to sell.
Textor is selling his shares in Palace due to UEFA‘s rules on multi-club ownership.
The American businessman is the majority shareholder of the Eagles and Lyon, and both teams qualified for next year’s edition of the Europa League.
Textor had the opportunity to put his Palace’s shares in a blind trust in March, but missed the deadline, and has now struck a deal to sell in a bid to avoid UEFA barring the club from entering the competition.
A sale has been agreed with Johnson, who attempted to buy Chelsea before a consortium led by Todd Boehly purchased the West Londoners.
However, Lyon’s relegation to Ligue 2 due to financial problems may lead to Textor reconsidering his decision to sell.
John Textor has time before Premier League approve sale
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley explained that with Johnson needing to go through the Premier League’s owners and directors test, there was still time for Textor to renege on the sale.
Lyon’s relegation now means they could be excluded by UEFA from the Europa League, although a judgment call will not be made just yet on that decision, the senior lecturer from Sheffield Hallam University told Football Insider previously.
Textor’s sale of his Palace shares has been rushed through to give the club the best chance of convincing the European governing body to allow the South London team a place in the competition.
But it has also meant the majority shareholder had little time to agree on the best deal possible, pushing through with a sale to Johnson despite receiving more lucrative offers that simply arrived too late [The Athletic].
Plumley said of the American going back on his agreement: “Yes, potentially [Textor could renege on a sale], there is a deal in principle there and obviously that’s what’s happened in terms of the reports we’ve seen, but you’re absolutely right.
“It typically takes around two months to get a new director in, even at the quickest option with Premier League rules and regulations because you’ve they’ve got to go through their due diligence, you’ve got to do all the back of house stuff.
“It’s got to clear the owners and directors test on the Premier League side.
“That typically takes two months, so while there is that deal in principle, and we know the know the person that’s buying over the shares and we know the price, etcetera, there is still a bit of paperwork to go.
“It’s quite conceivable that sometimes things can move in that time frame.
“I think we need to, not treat that with caution at this stage, obviously, because the deal is there, but be mindful of the fact that it will take a little bit of time to process through the Premier League regulation framework.”
Oliver Glasner gets Europa League and Jean-Philippe Mateta boosts
Whilst the boardroom-level debacle continues, the main takeaway is that Palace look set to keep their place in the Europa League.
The club would have been keen to avoid the whole mess in the first place, but with a resolution on the horizon, Oliver Glasner‘s side can now focus on their transfer plans.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Palace are advancing in their talks of a new contract for the talismanic French striker after interest from Man United, Mick Brown told Football Insider.
The former Mainz striker has been linked with a move away for much of last season and whilst he may not be a new signing, keeping the 27-year-old will save the Eagles the pain of trying to find a replacement this summer.