Thursday, September 19, 2024

Everton takeover: John Textor granted exclusivity by Farhad Moshiri

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Through his company Eagle Football Holdings, the 58-year-old Textor already has a number of stakes in other clubs, including Lyon in France, Brazilian side Botafogo and Belgian club Molenbeek.

In a revealing BBC Sport interview in February, Textor called protests against his ownership by some Palace fans “nonsense” and “misguided”, but said he was “in it for the long game”.

“No, I don’t want to run [Palace] one day,” he said at the time. “I don’t even like running the clubs I have.

“Is there a possibility that if we can’t achieve greater collaboration that we would consider selling our interest in Palace? It’s possible.”

In May, Textor confirmed he was looking to sell his stake in Palace and held an interest in purchasing Everton, suggesting his group may be “uniquely positioned to solve a lot of problems for people” at the Blues.

He told the Athletic, external in May: “Everton represents the best of English football: the struggles, the glory, the want. I love that it’s out of London. Everybody should want to buy Everton right now.

“How great would it be to take one of these great English clubs back to sort of glory?”

Palace chairman and co-owner Steve Parish is in charge of running the club and told BBC Sport this week that the situation between himself and Textor is amicable.

“John has a multi-club set-up and because he has a minority position in Crystal Palace it makes it more difficult for him to do the things that he wants to do,” Parish said.

“We do collaborate with his clubs where we can. He wants to go and do something else, we’re helping him do that. We will work to wish John well and do our best to get him in the position we want him to be in.”

Miami-based 777 Partners had agreed to buy Moshiri’s 94% stake in September 2023 but missed a deadline of 31 May to complete their purchase, while the Friedkin Group pulled out of talks four weeks after being granted a period of exclusivity and loaning the club £200m during their attempt to take over.

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