‘John Textor facing Crystal Palace takeover collapse after Everton twist’
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor could be facing a fresh blow in his efforts to sell his shares at Selhurst Park.
The American billionaire owns a 45 per cent stake in the Premier League side through his company Eagle Football Holdings.
The 59-year-old also owns majority stakes in French club Lyon, Brazilian first division outfit Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek.
Textor initially moved to sell his shares 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 fellow American Dan Friedkin agreed a takeover with Farhad Moshiri at Goodison Park.
Textor’s desire to sell up doesn’t appear to have impacted on-field matters at Selhurst Park, with Palace sitting comfortably in 12th place in the Premier League table.
Oliver Glasner’s side are also into the FA Cup semi-finals, where they will take on Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday (26 April).
John Textor facing Crystal Palace takeover questions
Textor 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.
The Athletic reported on 6 January the consortium included Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, former Morgan Stanley sports executive Bejan Esmaili and former Roc Nation attorney executive Wajid Mir.
However, Everton announced on Thursday (24 April) Kidd has now joined their ownership group, Roundhouse Capital Holdings, which is part of The Friedkin Group.
The big question is, where does that leave Textor and his agreement with the US-Saudi group?
Kidd will clearly no longer be investing in Palace after committing to Friedkin’s project at Everton, opening up questions around whether the other parties are still interested in taking shares at Selhurst Park.
There has been little to no information provided on Textor’s proposed sale in recent months, so it appears as though the deal is on the verge of collapsing if it hasn’t already.
| Club | Stake (%) |
| Crystal Palace (England) | 45 |
| Botafogo (Brazil) | 90 |
| Olympique Lyonnais (France) | 77.49 |
| RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) | 80 |
John Textor to make multi-million-pound payout after Crystal Palace twist
Elsewhere, Textor could be forced to make a multi-million-pound payout after a new legal issue has emerged.
The American is being sued for more than £6million at the High Court by Bruno Lage after Palace appointed Glasner as manager last February.
Both men apparently signed a contract that stated Textor would use his connections to get ex-Wolves boss Lage appointed at Palace or Lyon last year, but neither job materialised before the agreement expired.
Lage, who previously managed Textor-owned Botafogo, is now in his second stint as Benfica boss.
A statement from Eagle Football Holdings said: “Eagle Football remains open to a constructive discussion with Bruno Lage or his representatives with a view to resolving the dispute and settling the litigation which will ultimately serve neither party.”
Textor clearly has plenty on his plate at the moment as he looks to resolve other matters alongside the ownership situation at Selhurst Park.
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