Crystal Palace was at risk of being kicked out of the Europa League due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. American businessman John Textor owns 43% of shares in the London club but is also the majority shareholder of Lyon. This creates a problem since both teams have qualified for the Europa League. UEFA regulations prohibit clubs with the same owner from participating in the same competition. The issue for Crystal Palace is that they would have to be “relegated” to the Conference League, as the rules state that in such cases, the club with the better domestic league position takes priority. Since Lyon finished 6th in Ligue 1 and Crystal Palace only 12th in the Premier League, this created a conflict. And not just one—because if Palace were moved to the Conference League, they would clash with Denmark’s third-placed team, Brondby, whose owner David Blitzer is also a co-owner of Palace. A total entanglement.BREAKING: Crystal Palace have confirmed that Woody Johnson, an American businessman and co-owner of the New York Jets, has signed a legally binding contract to purchase Eagle Football’s holding in the Club 🚨 pic.twitter.com/3NfY661G8j— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 23, 2025 To avoid a soap opera-style drama, John Textor decided to sell his 43% stake in Crystal Palace to resolve the issue. Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, agreed to purchase all of Textor’s shares for about 200 million euros, thereby moving his business into the Premier League. The ownership transfer process takes about two months, as the Premier League and the Women’s Super League must process it. However, as The Athletic reports, the process may be sped up since Johnson is already the owner of an NFL franchise and has a “clean file.”NBA star saves the Premier League club?Johnson has owned the Jets since 2000, when he bought them for 635 million dollars. He previously attempted to buy Chelsea in 2022 but was beaten to the deal by Todd Boehly, who became the owner of the London Blues. Now, Johnson will fulfill his wish of owning a Premier League club and, in doing so, resolve the issue of European competition eligibility. The 78-year-old, according to Forbes, has a net worth of 3.3 billion dollars, and since he served as the U.S. ambassador to the UK from 2017 to 2021, that connection may help speed up the ownership transfer of the FA Cup winners. Negotiations over the Palace acquisition lasted a year, and now John Textor can fully focus on Lyon and his other clubs, such as Botafogo and Belgian side Molenbeek. In any case, if everything goes smoothly, fans at Selhurst Park can breathe a sigh of relief — they will play in the Europa League!FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025Matchday 3Monday22:00: (1.65) Atletico Madrid (3.70) Botafogo (5.60)22:00: (17.0) Seattle (9.00) PSG (1.13)Tuesday04:00: (5.00) Inter Miami (2.50) Palmeiras (2.25)04:00: (1.70) Porto (3.70) Al Ahly Cairo (5.10)22:00: (50.0) Auckland (25.0) Boca Juniors (1.01)22:00: (4.65) Benfica (3.20) Bayern (1.95)Wednesday04:00: (12.0) Esperance (5.40) Chelsea (1.28)04:00: (4.90) Los Angeles (3.60) Flamengo (1.75)22:00: (1.22) Dortmund (6.50) Ulsan (12.0)22:00: (4.10) Mamelodi (3.50) Fluminense (1.90)Thursday04:00: (1.90) Inter Milan (3.45) River Plate (3.80)04:00: (5.30) Urawa RD (3.60) Monterrey (1.70)22:00: (4.40) Juventus (3.50) Man.City (1.85)22:00: (2.55) Wydad Casablanca (3.35) Al Ain (2.75)Friday04:00: (1.48) Al Hilal (4.40) Pachuca (6.75)04:00: (9.00) Salzburg (5.90) Real Madrid (1.30)***odds are subject to change***
