The Political Economy of Football V2

The row between Ares Management and John Textor has escalated to the next level. The private capital group filed an application in London’s High Court to appoint administrators to Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited, which holds a majority stake in Eagle Football Group, the owner of Lyon, as well as clubs in Belgium and Brazil. Eagle is more than a test case for multi-club ownership in football. It is a coming together of sport and institutional capital. The outcome will be closely watched. Private capital firm Ares has appointed administrators to the owner of Olympique Lyonnais after it defaulted on its debts, in a move that puts the future of one of France’s leading football clubs in doubt. Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited holds a majority stake in Eagle Football Group, the owner of Lyon. Eagle Bidco, which also holds controlling stakes in Brazilian football club Botafago and Belgian team RWDM Brussels, is owned by US businessman and prolific football investor John T...

The continuing saga of the club's possible exclusion from the Europa League is understandably causing frustration at Crytsal Palace and the club is considering legal action should they be relegated to the Conference League:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c1jww1d3510o The latest delay is caused by Lyon's appeal against their relegation to Ligue 2, Crystal Palace have provided evidence to Uefa aimed at proving that their co-owner John Textor played no role in the appointment of their manager, Oliver Glasner. Textor’s stake in Palace, which was owned via his company, Eagle Football Holdings, and is now the subject of a £160million sale to the US billionaire Woody Johnson, is at the centre of an issue that could yet mean the FA Cup winners are unable to play in the Europa League next season. The extent of Textor’s involvement at Selhurst Park, when he also owned the French club Lyon, is central to Uefa’s concerns and the American businessman is on record talking...

After Brazilian football team Botafogo clinched a sensational league and cup double at the end of last season, its owner John Textor didn’t waste an opportunity to troll his naysayers.  On social media the US businessman and serial soccer investor posted a photo of himself kissing the Copa Libertadores trophy, alongside a WhatsApp message from a detractor. “You don’t understand anything in football and [sic] waste of time to talk to you. And you will lose everywhere you go,” it read.  Tagged in the screenshot was Paris Saint-Germain, whose Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has clashed with Textor, who is also the owner of Olympique Lyonnais in France and no stranger to public dust-ups.  Yet Botafogo’s success, less than three years since being rescued from financial ruin by its American benefactor, was more than just a personal triumph for Textor. It also provided a showcase for the wave of recent investments into Brazilian football, which has attra...