Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has agreed to sell his 43 per cent stake in the club, in a move that could allow the Eagles to play in Europe next year.
The buyer is believed to be New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, also an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company, and the deal is close to £190million, subject to Premier League approval.
Johnson must pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test, and this is expected to be completed within four weeks.
While Uefa and the Premier League must approve and confirm the deal, Palace believe it should mean the club will be playing European football next year.
Textor bought his stake in the club for £90million in August 2021 and has since invested £180million but is said to have been under pressure by fellow owners Steve Parish and David Blitzer to sell his stake.
Palace had faced elimination from Europe after qualifying for the first time on over 20 years following their FA Cup triumph over Manchester City due to Uefa’s rules on multi-club ownership.
Textor, who owns 43 per cent of the London club but only has a quarter of the voting rights, also owns a majority stake in French club Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League as well.
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As both clubs qualified for the Europa League, it created a direct conflict under current Uefa regulations, which prevent two clubs from the same ownership group from participating in the same competition.
Because Lyon finished higher in their domestic league than Crystal Palace, it would be the French side who would go qualify and, in turn, push the Eagles out.
Ordinarily, clubs would have the option to ‘relegate’ themselves to the lower competition, in this case the Conference League, however Palace co-owner David Blitzer also owns a majority stake in Brondby who qualified for the tournament via their league.
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Chairman Parish, along with Textor, travelled to Switzerland for a crunch meeting with Uefa to discuss their ownership.
After the meeting, Textor confirmed he was looking to sell his share in the club, despite previously looking to buy more.
Just two weeks later, sources have confirmed that Textor has agreed a deal to sell his stake in the club to Johnson.
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Johnson indicated he would be able to transfer funds across quickly, which is said to be a deciding factor in his winning bid, with two other parties expressed strong interest in the club.
Parish and Textor are reported to have fallen out as of late, with the American wanting to push his 'Eagle Football Network', including other clubs from his portfolio such as Botafogo.
The 59-year-old is believed to be looking to stay with the English game after the sale of Crystal Palace, with former Palace owner Simon Jordan recommending that he buys Sheffield Wednesday amid their financial crisis that has led to the Owls suffering a transfer embargo for three windows.
Johnson’s net worth is an estimated £2.5billion, with the Johnson & Johnson family boasting a net worth of around £12billion.
Johnson has owned the New York Jets since 2000, however, they are yet to win a Super Bowl in his tenure and have gone 14 years without even making the playoffs, the longest in the sport.
A decision is expected by Uefa in the next week.
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