Exclusive: John Textor stuck in Crystal Palace sale issue – ‘Nobody wants that’
John Textor will be doing all that he can to keep Crystal Palace in the Europa League but he will find it difficult to sell his shares in the club, according to Dan Plumley.
The football finance expert told Football Insider exclusively that even if the American businessman was able to offload his shares in the club, it “might not change the situation” the South London club find itself in.
Palace’s 1-0 FA Cup final triumph over Man City was the cherry on the cake of what has been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes since Oliver Glasner arrived at Selhurst Park.
The Austrian took over from Roy Hodgson with the club floundering in February 2024, leading them to a 10th-placed finish in his first campaign with the Eagles.
A rough start in his second season followed, in large part thanks to Michael Olise’s departure to Bayern Munich, but the ex-Wolfsburg manager got them back on track in the latter stages of the season, leading them to their first major piece of silverware and with it, European football.
But thanks to Textor, the majority shareholder of the club, also being the owner of French side Lyon, Palace now face expulsion from the Europa League due to UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership.
The club’s plight has led to the American businessman being willing to sell his shares in the club [BBC Sport], in a desperate attempt to avoid the Eagles being kicked out of the competition, in the latest u-turn after looking to buy out his co-owners.
He had previously been looking to sell up in order to pursue a takeover of Everton from Farhad Moshiri, but failed and compatriots The Friedkin Group took advantage to buy the Toffees.
John Textor will find it difficult to sell Crystal Palace shares
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley explained why the American businessman selling his shares would not be straightforward, and why it also may have little bearing on whether or not the club can play in the Europa League next season.
Textor missed the March deadline to move his Palace shares into a blind trust, but despite his willingness to sell up as the majority shareholder, there may well be “nobody” that “wants that opportunity”, according to the finance expert.
Plumley said: “If he [Textor] were looking to sell those shares, and that still might not change the situation here, for the record, but if he was looking to sell those shares, it’s about being able to sell them rather than being allowed to.
“He can sell them at any point. If you are trying to sell shares in a football club, you can do that, but then you’re into the conversation about who wants to buy those shares? Is that an attractive proposition?
“And for Crystal Palace, it’s an established Premier League club. They’ve exceeded expectations in terms of European qualification this season, to be confirmed of course.
“But there is an opportunity there, and then it’s a case of, well, there’s nobody there at the minute that wants that opportunity.
“It’s not easy to sell shares in a football club and it’s not easy to sell a football club. There are two parts to that issue around what’s happening with UEFA and the wider conversation about Textor wanting to sell those shares in Palace as a general issue.”
Liverpool accelerating deal for Marc Guehi as clubs look to capitalise on Crystal Palace mayhem
Paul Robinson told Football Insider in May that there was little Palace could do to retain Marc Guehi’s services amid interest from Liverpool and Newcastle.
Whilst the Eagles’ captain has been expected to leave for some time now, he could be joined by several other stars in leaving the club.
There is plenty of interest in Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, and without European football Palace may find it difficult to convince their in-demand players to stay.