John Textor could be facing a Crystal Palace takeover blow as his latest attempts to sell his shares “don’t fix the problem”.
The American billionaire is open to selling his stake in the Premier League side for £170million to allow them to play in the Europa League next season.
Palace qualified for the competition after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final last month to get their hands on their first-ever major trophy.
Textor’s ownership of Lyon has presented a stumbling block after the French side have also qualified for the Europa League, with Uefa’s rules prohibiting clubs controlled by the same owners or directors from competing in the same European competition.
Textor and Palace chairman Steve Parish met with Uefa officials in Nyon, Switzerland, last week to try and resolve the situation.
Sky Sports reported on 12 June Textor has now received an offer from Woody Johnson, who owns the NFL franchise New York Jets, for his shares at Selhurst Park.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it could take up to three months for the Premier League to conduct its ownership test on any potential buyer.
Uefa is expected to rule on whether Palace can compete in the Europa League later this month.
John Textor could face three-month Crystal Palace takeover delay
Borson insisted a takeover is unlikely to fix Crystal Palace’s problem with Uefa.
He told Football Insider: “I was of the view that they would be okay.
“There is one piece that supports that and says they’re effectively going to be okay, and they’re going to be cleared.
“But then at the same time, The Times are writing something quite different. So, I think we’ll know in the next few days either way, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.
“There were also some reports that Textor was going to sell a stake or had an offer to sell a stake for $200million (£148million) to a new consortium.
“I don’t see how that helps at all in the timescales because even if tomorrow that deal was on the table and they literally agreed it tomorrow, it would still take three months for the league to approve the change of ownership.
“The deal is conditional until that happens.
“So, from Uefa’s perspective, they can’t put any credence on that because even in the best-case scenario, there’s undeniably a period of the next two or three months if they think Textor is the issue, where Textor and Eagle Football own the shares prior to the deal happening.
“I don’t see how that fixes the Uefa problem at all.
“It might do next season, but it doesn’t fix it this season.”
| Club | Stake (%) |
| Crystal Palace (England) | 43 |
| Botafogo (Brazil) | 90 |
| Olympique Lyonnais (France) | 77.49 |
| RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) | 80 |
Crystal Palace race to sign Oscar Bobb
Selhurst Park chiefs are pushing forward with their plans for next season despite the uncertainty surrounding their Europa League place.
Recruitment expert Mick Brown told Football Insider Palace are among the clubs interested in signing Oscar Bobb this summer.
The Norway international featured just four times for Manchester City in the 2024-25 season after breaking his leg last August.
