American businessman John Textor said on Friday that he is trying to sell his stake in Crystal Palace, of which he owns 45% through his company Eagle Football Holdings, and expressed interest in buying Premier League rival Everton.
Palace is one of four clubs Textor owns, along with majority stakes in French side Lyon, Brazilian first division Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek. It has tasked the Raine group with finding a buyer for its stake in Palace.
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“As proud as we are to have been part of Crystal Palace's resurgence, it remains true that Crystal Palace is an independent club led by a man with a steady hand who has achieved a level of sustainability that is incredibly rare in today's Premier League. “Textor said in a statement.
“An integrated sporting model like ours at Eagle simply does not fit perfectly at Crystal Palace,” added the businessman, who is “proud” of his contribution to the club and is confident that several potential partners will step in.
Manager Oliver Glasner has revitalized the young Palace side, lifting them out of the relegation zone and into 10th place in the Premier League this season after replacing Roy Hodgson, which bodes well for their future.
Textor wants to maintain his interest in the Premier League and said on Friday he has held talks about a possible investment in Everton.
Miami-based 777 Partners reached an agreement with Everton in September to buy the 94.1% stake of the club's majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri. The deal was subject to approval by English football authorities and has yet to be finalized by the Premier League eight months later.
“Yeah [I’ve had conversations around buying Everton]”Textor told The Athletic. “With existing constituencies: different groups, different lenders, different shareholders.
“I asked them 'is there a way to resolve all this confusion and address everyone's problems?' I'm very open-minded, but I don't want to get into a situation where I'm not really welcome.
“I'm looking at it but 777 still has a contract. There are people close to the club who care a lot about him and who are also investing.”
The potential sale has been thrown into doubt because 777 faces a $600 million fraud lawsuit in federal court in New York and its Australian airline is grounded. It has raised concerns about the group's suitability as a football club owner and how it could pass the Premier League owners and directors test.
Eagle Football cannot buy another Premier League club without first selling its stake in Palace.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
