Everton
Everton’s chaotic ownership saga may now be in the past, but the focus on what may have been remains.
That focus is currently on the downfall of John Textor. And the man putting the spotlight firmly on him, is analyst Paul Quinn.
A lifelong Evertonian and independent analyst, Quinn has recently become a key figure among Botafogo fans in Brazil.
He’s been dissecting the collapse of John Textor’s multi-club empire.
The American’s Eagle Football group was put into administration at the end of March by main creditor Ares Capital Corporation.
Administrators are now seeking buyers for stakes in Botafogo, Olympique Marseille and RWDM. That’s seen Quinn taking a closer look, having become interested in Textor when he appeared close to acquiring Everton.
“I’ve always been a football fan, specifically of Everton,” he told O Globo.
“Coming from the city of Liverpool, it’s impossible not to take an interest in football. Unusually, I’ve always been fascinated by the way football clubs are managed, what makes a club successful, and what distinguishes a good owner from a bad one.
“When Everton were facing severe financial difficulties, I took a keen interest in finding out who our future owners might be.”
Textor’s Everton ambitions immediately rejected
Paul Quinn’s analysis of Everton’s ownership candidates led him to 777 Partners, and then to John Textor, who publicly declared interest in the Toffees in 2024.
Quinn, though, says he dismissed the idea instantly.
“I knew this wasn’t possible due to his stake in Crystal Palace and the high debt levels within his multi-club operations,” he added.
“I doubted he possessed the funds he claimed to have, and I also questioned the business model of Eagle Football Holdings. My interest in Textor grew from that point on.”
A multi-club model built on debts
The Everton fan and analyst could see, through the numbers, that John Textor’s structure relied on predatory financing and internal subsidies. That model, it turns out, was a castle built on sand.
“It is simple: Textor lacked the capital to acquire, invest in, and sustain the clubs he purchased,” he explained.
“He relied entirely on extremely costly loans from Ares, a predatory lender. Furthermore, he lacked the free cash flow to continue funding the losses incurred by the entire group.
“Eagle was unsustainably leveraged and was using Botafogo to subsidize the rest of the business.”
What this means for Everton
For Evertonians, Paul Quinn’s analysis confirms what many suspected. John Textor’s public flirtation with the Toffees was never financially credible.
The debt load, the reliance on high-interest borrowing and the shuffling of cash across clubs, and continents, made any takeover attempt impossible. For Quinn, it exposes a deeper structural flaw.
“This entire situation highlights the inherent fragilities of the multi-club ownership model,” he concluded.
“A poor owner can utilise the assets of a high-performing club to prop up one facing financial difficulties, and to me, this seems fundamentally wrong.”
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