Robert “Woody” Johnson IV, co-owner of the New York Jets and former US Wizard in the UK, agreed to buy a significant participation in Crystal Palace, the latest FA CUP champion.
Johnson signed a binding contract to acquire the participation of John Texor’s Eagle Football group, according to a statement issued Monday (23). Sources familiar with the subject reported that Johnson will pay about $ 215 million to the textor, which has more than 40% of the team through Eagle.
The conclusion of the business still depends on the approval of Premier League and Women’s Super League, according to the statement.
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Heir to Johnson & Johnson and owner of New York Jets, Johnson has a $ 9.2 billion equity, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and has long wanted to have a Premier League club. In 2022, he made an offer by Chelsea FC, but lost to a consortium led by Clearlake Capital.
If the purchase of Johnson’s participation at Crystal Palace is formally approved, he will be the latest US entrepreneur to make an important investment in an English elite soccer team. Eleven Premier League’s 20 teams are partially or fully controlled by US investors, with Friedkin Group taking over Everton in October last year. Among the newly promoted teams, Burnley and Leeds United are also owned by American.
Johnson has a controversial history in NFL. In the annual survey conducted by the NFL Players Association, the New York Jets fell from 21st to 29th position. Johnson received an “F”, the lowest note among team owners, while players also complained about the food budget. In January this year, Johnson said he needed to “look in the mirror and be a better owner.”
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Textor was pressured to sell his participation after questions about whether his model from multiple clubs would hinder Crystal Palace’s participation in European competitions next season.
Eagle Football is one of the largest operators of multiple clubs in sports and also invests in teams such as France’s Olympique Lyonnais, Botafogo, Brazil, and Belgium RWD Moenbeek.
UEFA determines that clubs with ordinary shareholders cannot compete in the same European competition in the same season. Both Palace and Lyon qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
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It is unclear whether the sale of Textor’s participation in Crystal Palace will be enough for UEFA to allow the team to participate in the Europa League next season. Crystal Palace has lost the March period established by UEFA to organize the arrangements that would allow both Southern London and Olympique Lyon team to participate in the competition.
Other multiple property groups have avoided possible European conflicts. Evangelos Marinakis put the Nottingham Forest in a blind Trust to separate his interests from Olympiakos.
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