Crystal Palace fans who have been holding their breath since the cup final victory last month could be heard emitting a massive sigh of relief today.
Palace’s new owner: Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and now 45% of Crystal Palace " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?fit=300%2C234&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?fit=640%2C500&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-205687" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?resize=351%2C274&ssl=1" alt width="351" height="274" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?w=822&ssl=1 822w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?resize=300%2C234&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?resize=150%2C117&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-11-39-Palaces-Euro-hopes-boosted-as-John-Textor-sells-stake-to-New-York-Jets-owner-%E2%80%93-The-Irish-News.png?resize=768%2C600&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px">
Palace’s new shareholder: Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and now 45% of the Eagles
Or two sighs of relief: for director John Textor appears to have finally exited the club, and the threat of expulsion from the Europa League appears finally to have receded.
Textor has been a reluctant part of Palace’s success story for the past year or more, never quite managing to find a buyer for his 44.9% share in the club.
But it was Textor’s business interests in other clubs, specifically Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League by finishing sixth in Ligue 1, which put Palace’s first proper season in Europe in serious jeopardy, with UEFA even considering seeking legal advice in a test case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Under UEFA rules, no two clubs sharing common ownership can play in the same competition. Inevitably, when it comes to sports law, what actually constitutes having the same ownership remains about as well defined as Croydon Council’s constitution.
After a series of reports trailing a possible share sale, The Grauniad’s Ed Aarons today published a news story that confirmed that former US Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson had agreed to buy Textor’s stake.
Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets NFL franchise, is expected to have his purchase ratified by the Premier League within four weeks.
Misdummer’s dream: Palace fans can now properly contemplate possible away games at Seville, Stuttgart, Rome and… Lyon " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?fit=300%2C274&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?fit=640%2C585&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-205689" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?resize=371%2C339&ssl=1" alt width="371" height="339" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?w=663&ssl=1 663w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?resize=300%2C274&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Screenshot-2025-06-23-at-14-12-43-New-Europa-League-format-explained-and-what-it-means-for-Tottenham-Chelsea-and-Man-United-football.london.png?resize=150%2C137&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 371px) 100vw, 371px">
Midsummer’s dream: Palace fans can now properly contemplate possible away games at places such as Seville, Stuttgart, Rome and… Lyon
Johnson is paying £190million for Textor’s share of Crystal Palace, which values the FA Cup-holders as worth £423million.
The deal was signed last night in America.
“The 78-year-old, who has owned the Jets since 2000 and missed out on buying Chelsea in 2022 after making a $2billion offer, must pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test before he can complete the purchase,” The Grauniad reports.
“It is understood that with Palace under pressure from UEFA to comply with its regulations on multi-club ownership, the league is expected to act swiftly to aid their cause.”
Even UEFA may have been sighing with relief, too, since Palace’s plight presented a potentially messy, and unwanted, test of their multi-club ownership rules.
Palace’s co-owners – chair Steve Parish, Textor and his fellow Americans Josh Harris and David Blitzer – were part of the delegation that attended a meeting at UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland this month. Their position has been that Textor, the majority shareholder in Lyon, does not have a decisive influence at Selhurst Park. Despite being the largest shareholder, Textor only ever had the same voting rights as Parish, Harris and Blitzer, to his apparent frustration.
Aaron’s report speculated on whether Johnson might want a full takeover, with Harris and Blitzer, who own a combined 36%, “believed to be willing to sell, owing to concerns about the ballooning costs of building a new main stand, which some sources are predicting could reach up to £240million”.
Textor paid £90million for a 40% stake in Crystal Palace in 2021, but has since invested about £180million in the club.
As well as Lyon, his Eagle Football network also includes the South American champions Botafogo and the Belgian side Daring Brussels.
Read more:Parish’s position in jeopardy as Textor stages a Palace coup
Read more:We’re South London and very, very proud of our FA Cup team
Read more:A dream becomes reality: Wembley shook and it was beautiful
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