John Textor, chairman of the Eagle Football group which includes Lyon, expressed high confidence in acquiring English club Everton during a press conference at Lyon’s training centre on Wednesday. Textor stated, “There’s a 90 percent chance of this happening, but the current owner also has other choices.”
In August, it was reported that Everton’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, had granted Textor a period of exclusivity to explore a potential takeover. Textor clarified that the purchase of the Premier League club would be “in my own name” and funded personally. “It would come from my own financing. I will be the buyer, not Eagle,” Textor emphasized.
Eagle Football, which also owns Botafogo—the current leaders of the Brazilian league—and Molenbeek, a Belgian second-division team, holds a 46 percent stake in Crystal Palace, another Premier League club and a rival of Everton. Textor acquired most of these stakes individually before consolidating them into Eagle Football in November 2022. The company took control of Lyon the following month.
Under Premier League regulations, Textor must sell his stake in Crystal Palace before he can proceed with the Everton acquisition. He noted, “The money from this sale will be allocated to Eagle Football to repay part of its debts,” adding that some funds would be used “to develop our academies around the world and recruit talent.”
Textor assured that the potential takeover would not affect Lyon’s operations, stating, “There will be no impact on Lyon, but it could be a good partnership all the same. It will be debt-free.”
