John Textor was in talks with Farhad Moshiri to buy Everton before the Friedkin Group came back in but a report claims one of his clubs Olympique Lyonnais are in financial trouble
Following the demise of 777 Partners, Everton may have pulled off another potential takeover ‘escape’ with John Textor after a report claimed Olympique Lyonnais’ financial situation could warrant the DNCG to announce an administrative relegation to Ligue 2. After previously ending talks back in July, a deal for the Friedkin Group to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire 94.1% stake in Everton was announced on September 23.
A joint statement read: “Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group confirm that they have reached agreement over the terms of the sale of Blue Heaven Holdings’ majority stake in Everton Football Club. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, including from the Premier League, the Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority.”
Although no timescale has been publicly discussed by either party, sources close to the deal are hopeful that the Friedkin Group, who already own Italian side Roma, should get the green light from the relevant parties, including the Premier League board, by December. Until the Friedkins came back in, Textor was in the box seat to acquire Everton after entering into negotiations with Moshiri.
READ MORE: Everton injury latest as Sean Dyche gets boost and Armando Broja recovery plan revealedREAD MORE: Everton press conference LIVE – Injury latest, Jarrad Branthwaite reaction, West Ham preview
Nicknamed ‘Hollywood’s Virtual Reality guru,’ Textor, who as well as having a 45% stake in Crystal Palace, also owns RWD Molenbeek in Belgium and Botafogo in Brazil, had compared the prospect of buying the Blues to being in the White House. He told Sky Sports: “Nobody wakes up and thinks, ‘I get to buy Everton.’ But if you decide football is what you want in your life, and then somebody comes along and asks you if you want to become the owner of Everton, it’s like someone asking you if you want to be President of the United States. Of course you do.”
However, Get France Football cites a report from Romain Molina as claiming the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (National Directorate of Management Control), the organisation responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional football clubs in France, could send Lyon down but notes the financial watchdog is unlikely to take this step, writing that this would only apply in a “normal world.”
That article states how L’Équipe has previously written about how there are certain questions raised by Lyon’s financial structure with the club losing money every year due to an economic model based on recurrent Champions League qualification. The outlet notes that poor sporting results over the past five years have dragged Lyon down, but also that the club’s wage bill, one of the largest in Ligue 1, is overinflated. Jordan Veretout (31) was provided with a contract of around €300,000 per month, while other older players like Anthony Lopes (34) sit in the reserves with very high wages.
On Thursday, Textor’s Eagle Group (who own Lyon) announced a net loss of around €25million despite sales to some of their physical assets such as the women’s team and OL Reign, and receiving the CVC payment from the LFP, while Le Progrès points out that the club’s financial debt rose from €458million to €508million. Molina adds that there could be a fire sale coming to Lyon this winter with all players being up for auction and over the summer, there was already some evidence of this with Les Gones sanctioning the departure of highly promising academy graduate Mamadou Sarr (19) to RC Strasbourg Alsace for only €10million.
Everton themselves of course bought Jake O’Brien for £16.43million while taking Orel Mangala on loan from Lyon on transfer deadline day with agent Giovanni Bia claiming the Belgium international had already agreed to go to Fiorentina before Textor himself intervened and decided to send the midfielder to Goodison Park.
