American lost his position as director of the holding company that controls his group of clubs
The subject has space in Brazilian and European football: John Textor was fired.
The American, who for years presented himself as the great visionary of multi-ownership football, lost his position as director of the holding company that controls his group of clubs. The decision came from Ares Management, the conglomerate’s main creditor, and took immediate effect. Textor is out of Lyon.
And it wasn’t for lack of trying: he even articulated a bold maneuver to regain control, revoking independent directors. The board’s response was immediate and harsh — hours later, Textor himself was removed from the holding company’s board of directors.
He still promises to fight in court to reverse the situation, but the scenario is extremely unfavorable.
And in Botafogo? In Brazil, the situation is not very different. Textor remains the main figure of Botafogo SAF only due to a court injunction obtained in October last year. This position, however, is increasingly threatened and uncertain.
The crisis with Ares directly compromises the promised contributions, the stability of SAF control and the club’s financial planning for the coming years.
A trajectory of meteoric rise and fall What we saw in recent years was a classic script: multimillion-dollar ambition, an “innovative” model of multi-ownership of clubs and purchases of big brands (Lyon, Botafogo, Molenbeek, among others).
Temporary glories and a lot of noise in the media…
Accelerated collapse in recent months, driven by debts, fights with creditors and serious management problems. What went up too quickly… came down at the same speed. Ares assumed, in practice, effective control of the group. Textor, who sold himself as the great leader, is now on the sidelines — especially in Botafogo, where the future has never been so cloudy.
It is the end – or at least a forced pause – of one of the most ambitious and, at the same time, most controversial projects in modern football.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
