‘John Textor doesn’t have the money to agree Crystal Palace takeover’
Crystal Palace’s ownership situation is no closer to being resolved after John Textor has changed his mind on selling his shares at Selhurst Park.
The 59-year-old initially moved to offload his 45 per cent stake in Palace as he looked to secure a takeover of Everton last year, with the Premier League‘s rules prohibiting individuals from owning more than one club.
He eventually missed out on a deal to buy the Merseysiders after Dan Friedkin agreed a takeover with Farhad Moshiri at Goodison Park.
Textor then agreed to sell his Palace stake in January after a group backed by individuals from the US and Saudi Arabia signed an exclusivity agreement to buy his shares.
However, the Guardian reported on 9 May the American is now attempting an audacious takeover of the south London club after holding talks with fellow co-owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris about purchasing their shares.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it doesn’t appear as though Textor has the money to complete a takeover deal.
Textor, who also owns majority stakes in French club Lyon, Brazilian first division outfit Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, is understood to face competition from New York Jets owner Woody Johnson for control at Selhurst Park.
Textor’s compatriots Blitzer and Harris are each believed to own an 18 per cent share in Palace, while chairman Steve Parish has seen his stake reduced to under 10 per cent in recent years.
Crystal Palace takeover verdict shared after U-turn
Borson insisted you have to take all of the stories surrounding Textor with a “huge” pinch of salt.
He told Football Insider: “There are so many stories about John Textor.
“I think you have to take it with a huge pinch of salt until something actually happens. He’s got all sorts of issues with Lyon’s Uefa compliance and French League financial fair play compliance.
“The US IPO that he’s talked about incessantly is apparently imminent, but it never seems to actually make progress. I think you have to take it with a pinch of salt and just see what happens.
“He doesn’t seem to have the money to be able to buy Crystal Palace from the other guys.
“I don’t even know if they want to sell, but he doesn’t seem to have the money anyway, so I’m very sceptical about all of those Textor stories. None of them have turned out so far to be reliable stories.
“When somebody talks about corporate activity and then it doesn’t happen a number of times, I’m talking about Everton, the IPO once or twice in the US, fundraisings, all of this stuff, it’s not really happened, so let’s just see.”
| Club | Stake (%) |
| Crystal Palace (England) | 45 |
| Botafogo (Brazil) | 90 |
| Olympique Lyonnais (France) | 77.49 |
| RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) | 80 |
Tottenham ready move to sign Crystal Palace star
In terms of on-field matters, Football Insider revealed on 14 May Tottenham are ready to launch a bid to sign Eberechi Eze ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 26-year-old has a £68million release clause in his contract at Selhurst Park, but it is believed Spurs are planning to offer below that figure in the initial negotiations.
The England international has also been linked with Manchester City following his impressive form this season.
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