Heavily criticized in France because of the chaotic transfer window of Olympique Lyonnais (130 M€ of purchases, but only 25 M€ while the DNCG expects at least 100 M€), John Textor is also in the news in England. Boss of Crystal Palace, the American businessman wants to join Everton. And yesterday, the boss of Eagle wanted to make things clear concerning his desire to disengage from Palace via a press release published on his official website.
“*In light of recent information, which we believe to be well-intentioned but which remains inaccurate or imprecise, we feel compelled to clarify our intentions as the current owners of Crystal Palace Football Club, in the interests of its community, and in the interests of the Everton community who may be affected by this information. We can confirm that we are interested in selling our stake in Crystal Palace, largely to enable us to continue our relationship with the Club and the Everton community. Several months ago, we engaged the Raine Group to begin the process of evaluating alternatives, as we were at the time considering two very different solutions, either the purchase of a majority stake from Palace or an outright sale. Since the start of our investment in 2021, and our initial purchase of 40%, it has always been my intention to acquire a majority stake in the Club. I was invited to acquire a majority stake at the time, and have often regretted not doing so before. We have continued to be the principal investor in the Club, with significant investments made in spring 2023 and again in summer 2024. Although we have been able to increase our percentage shareholding in the Club, and remain the largest shareholder in the Club, we have not yet acquired a majority stake. The Club remains governed in the same way today as it was in 2021. We are one of four principal partners of the Club and we all have equal rights of management, control and governance. As we look forward to a new adventure, we remain proud of our contributions to the Club and the Crystal Palace community. Our capital and daily contributions have helped pay off debts accrued during COVID, achieved key milestones in improving the academy, reduced the average age of the squad and brought in many of today’s most influential players. We’ve even helped establish and build a relationship with our impressive new manager. In short, while we don’t enjoy the same level of collaboration as we do with our other Eagle Football Clubs, we are proud of Crystal Palace as an example of the positive contribution we can make to a football club and a community. So as I am now asked to explain our views on retaining ownership and our thinking on the buy and sell scenarios, I can only say that the decision has been as confusing for us as it must be for supporters who have to decipher the limited and inaccurate information in the press. It’s confusing because it’s emotional. What’s not to love about Palace? I came forward in 2021, as a private investor, with only my wife and children as partners. We attended games as a family, home and away. We had great wins, against great teams, and we had great wins slip away at the last minute… and along the way, although I didn’t get to go to the pubs with the fans as much as my two boys, I always looked forward to hearing their stories of the ‘away days’ (like being nearly thrown off a bridge for wearing Palace colours at Forest, only to be pulled by the neck by three older Palace fans). We enjoyed every moment as Palace supporters. And long before our model of collaborative partnership between multiple clubs began to develop and we built relationships with other communities, we were already happy to contribute to a partnership that worked well enough to lead to significant improvements and increased ambitions. What started as a “cool thing to do in retirement” turned into an overwhelming passion for a club and community that my family (and eventually my new partners) grew to love, a community that truly deserves to raise a Cup. Ultimately, it became clear that our collaborative model was working. If we believe that each of our family’s communities deserves to win championships, then it’s clear that we’re successful. In Belgium, we found success quickly (probably too quickly), winning a Cup, earning promotion to the 1st division, where we hope to return soon. In Brazil, we bought a bankrupt club, emerging from Serie B in 2022, and are now top of Serie A, beating the biggest Brazilian clubs in our main competition and the Copa Libertadores. In France, we took control of the team (OL) in the summer of 2022, and suffered for 15 weeks as the bottom team in Ligue 1. We had no chance of avoiding relegation, but we improved our chances in a single collaborative transfer window, becoming the number 1 team in France for the last half of the 2022/23 season. Even more surprising, for others, is that no team in history, in France, had ever escaped relegation with only 7 points after 14 games – but we finished in 6th place and qualified directly for the Europa League. Collaboration works, for all the clubs and communities in our family. I come to the point, because it seems to me that it is high time for me to clarify our intentions, given that real people in real communities are affected by misinformation. Yes, we have evaluated other relationships in football to complement our family, to include a strong and collaborative British community – but before deciding to leave one family to join another, we have tried to do everything possible to remain connected to the club and the Crystal Palace community. If supporters do not easily switch allegiances, neither should owners. It is true that we made an offer to buy the remaining shares in Crystal Palace, at a valuation that far exceeds previous investment levels. We did so in the firm belief that Palace has become a much more valuable club since 2021, and we have respected our partners enough to offer them fair value, whatever the circumstances. It is also true that our offer has not attracted a response, and we believe that our partners at Palace have the same desire to remain owners as we have in the past… which is why the Raine Group’s efforts to sell our interests have resumed. We have a significant number of active parties in our process, we have received strong indications from qualified buyers, and we firmly believe that we can conclude a sale of our interests in order to continue to move forward with the next community that we hope to serve, embrace and enjoy. We do not expect to be immediately accepted when we arrive in a new city, with Palace gear tucked away in our trunks and memories that we will cherish forever (although May 19, 2022 will have to be one of those memories that can now go both ways!) Trust is not quickly earned with supporters, but I believe that we are uniquely qualified to serve and deliver results, and I believe that it is more likely than not that I will refer to a new club and a new community as “my club” at some point. Only time will tell.*
