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Textor willing to sell Palace stake

John Textor is prepared to sell his stake in Crystal Palace for as little as £170million in a deal that would enable the FA Cup winners to play in the Europa League next season.

Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings has 43 per cent of the Premier League club, but the company’s ownership of Lyon in France has left Palace facing the threat of expulsion from Europe’s second tier. Textor and the Palace chairman, Steve Parish, met Uefa last week, in the hope of persuading officials that the 59-year-old American’s 25 per cent voting rights limited his influence at Selhurst Park.

Uefa will rule on the matter later this month but insiders are increasingly of the view that only if Textor sells will the matter be resolved. Lyon’s possible exclusion because of certain financial challenges might have offered a solution but senior sources insist the Ligue 1 side has now been issued with a Uefa licence. That said, other insiders believe Lyon still have certain requirements to meet.

A deal for the Eagle stake would nevertheless have to be agreed swiftly, with a purchase by the current co-owners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, viewed as the simplest outcome.

The American businessmen have matching 18 per cent stakes and there have been reports of a possible joint offer for Textor’s stake with Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets NFL team and the former US ambassador to the UK.

Sources close to Textor insist the price of £170million is below the current market value — it is their view that, based on revenue, 43 per cent of the club is worth north of £190million — with the hope that it will bring Harris and Blitzer to the table and finally remove the threat of exclusion from Europe. In 2023 Harris bought the Washington Commanders NFL team for £4.5billion.

Even if Palace prove successful in their appeal and persuade Uefa that the club should not be punished for Textor’s multi-club ownership business model, there is concern that a legal challenge could then follow at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

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