Textor says closing of Crystal Palace share sale will open pathway for Everton buy

September 12 – American businessman John Textor says he is an “awkward spot” in the process of buying Everton.

Textor is also co-owner of Crystal Palace but is trying to sell his shares to buy Everton from majority owner Farhad Moshiri.

Any deal is dependent on selling his stake in Palace as Premier League rules prohibit individuals from owning more than one team.

“I’m in an awkward spot but we’re working through it,” Textor told Sky.

Textor’s company Eagle Football Group also owns stakes in other clubs including French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais and Brazilian side Botafogo and Belgian club Molenbeek through his company Eagle Football Holdings.

He said he felt that Everton’s accounting problems, which led to them being docked eight points last season after breaching the Premier League’s spending rules, were manageable and is confident a deal can be reached before the November 30 deadline.

“There’s a bit of a Chinese wall between me as an owner of Crystal Palace and what I’m really allowed to know as a prospective owner of another team in the same division.

“But I do think we’re developing solutions for that information gap and I feel we’re in the very last days of getting our comfort around that.”

Textor said he had received several bids to buy his stake in Crystal Palace and “we’re into the final week or two of knowing who the buyer will be” although his efforts to buy Everton could still be interrupted by competing bids.

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