The New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, has offered £190m to buy John Textor’s stake in Crystal Palace. The move comes with Uefa expected to delay until the end of the month a decision on whether the club will be allowed to compete in next season’s Europa League. The offer from Johnson, the former US ambassador to the UK, has the backing of Palace’s co-chair Steve Parish and is believed to be under consideration by Textor despite falling significantly short of his valuation of about £240m for his 44.9% stake.
That figure is based on his failed attempt to buy out Parish and his fellow co-owners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, in April, when a £550m bid was rebuffed. Textor is understood to be prepared to accept up to £50m less than his valuation after Harris and Blitzer turned down an opportunity to buy his stake at the discounted price. A consortium that includes the NBA star Jimmy Butler and Sportsbank, which has held talks with Textor about investing in Palace, is also in the frame.
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All four Palace co-owners were part of the club delegation that attended a meeting at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon this month and argued that Textor, the majority shareholder in the French club Lyon, who have also qualified for next season’s Europa League, does not have a decisive influence at Selhurst Park despite being the largest shareholder. Uefa rejected attempts by Textor and Blitzer to place their shares in a blind trust because they missed the 1 March deadline. Blitzer’s Danish club, Brøndby, have qualified for the Conference League.
A decision on Palace had been expected imminently but sources at Uefa have indicated its club financial control body (CFCB) would like more time to consider the case, with the end of June regarded as more realistic. That could give Textor an opportunity to complete a sale – a move that would also be viewed favourably by Uefa – although he is believed to be reluctant to rush through a deal having spent about £180m since purchasing his original 40% stake in August 2021.
Palace are understood to remain confident they will be cleared to participate in the Europa League, having been in regular contact with the CFCB since their meeting in Nyon. But if they do get approval, Nottingham Forest could appeal to the court of arbitration for sport after they wrote to Uefa this week raising concerns about a potential breach of multi-club ownership rules by Palace.
Forest, whose owner, Evangelos Marinakis, is close to Textor, would stand to be promoted from the Conference League if Palace are banned by Uefa. Brighton would then be in line to take Forest’s Conference League place after finishing eighth in the Premier League.
It is understood Brighton have no intention of making a complaint to Uefa and would be unlikely to join Forest in any legal action to prevent Palace, their arch-rivals, from competing in Europe.
