Latest news with #EagleFootballGroup
CNA
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Palace appeal to CAS against Europa League demotion
Premier League club Crystal Palace have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against UEFA's decision to remove them from the Europa League over alleged breaches of multi-club ownership regulations, the CAS said on Tuesday. Palace were demoted to the Conference League, the third-tier European competition, by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) this month because John Textor, president of the Eagle Football Group, majority owners of Olympique Lyonnais, also has a controlling stake in Palace. Ligue 1 club Lyon, who also qualified for the second-tier continental competition, were allowed to compete. "This (appeal) will be an expedited procedure with an operative decision (without grounds) to be rendered on or before 11 August 2025," CAS said in a statement. Palace said last month that New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson had signed a legally binding agreement to buy Eagle Football Holding's stake in the club, subject to approval from the Premier League. Palace, however, missed the March deadline to comply with the multi-club ownership rules before winning the FA Cup in May to earn their place in European competition.
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Palace appeal to CAS against Europa League demotion
July 22 (Reuters) - Premier League club Crystal Palace have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against UEFA's decision to remove them from the Europa League over alleged breaches of multi-club ownership regulations, the CAS said on Tuesday. Palace were demoted to the Conference League, the third-tier European competition, by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) this month because John Textor, president of the Eagle Football Group, majority owners of Olympique Lyonnais, also has a controlling stake in Palace. Ligue 1 club Lyon, who also qualified for the second-tier continental competition, were allowed to compete. "This (appeal) will be an expedited procedure with an operative decision (without grounds) to be rendered on or before 11 August 2025," CAS said in a statement. Palace said last month that New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson had signed a legally binding agreement to buy Eagle Football Holding's stake in the club, subject to approval from the Premier League. Palace, however, missed the March deadline to comply with the multi-club ownership rules before winning the FA Cup in May to earn their place in European competition. Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, will replace Palace in the Europa League if their appeal fails.
New York Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Thiago Almada's Atletico Madrid move sums up the transfer industry in 2025
This week's transfer of Argentinian midfielder Thiago Almada from Brazil's Botafogo to Spanish club Atletico Madrid is a good example of the complexity of the modern global football transfer market. Almada's arrival was announced by Atletico with a short statement on Tuesday evening. The move caught some in Spain by surprise, given the La Liga side had already signed creative midfielder Alex Baena from Villarreal for a reported €50million (£43.3m/$58.2m) and were in the process of completing the arrival of U.S. international midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis for around €30m. But Almada had long been on Atletico's radar. Advertisement Months after the Argentina international first joined Botafogo in July last year from MLS side Atlanta United for an initial $21million (£15.6m at the current rate), the Brazilian club's majority owner John Textor told the Ole Sports Summit that 'a friend' at Atletico had initially recommended he take a look at the player. That tip-off worked out well. In just six months with the Rio de Janeiro-based team, Almada helped win the Brazilian Serie A title and their first ever Copa Libertadores trophy — South America's Champions League equivalent. In January, he joined Lyon of France's Ligue 1 top flight, another club owned by Textor's Eagle Football Group (which is also a shareholder in Crystal Palace of the Premier League, although it is about to sell its 43 per cent stake to Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL's New York Jets — but that's a whole other story), on loan for the rest of the season. Almada scored twice in 20 appearances across all competitions to help them qualify for next season's Europa League (another complicated story also involving Palace). Lyon initially wanted to buy Almada outright, with a €27million purchase price put in place during the winter transfer window, but Ligue 1's DNCG (Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion) management committee would not allow this, due to the club's deep financial issues, so Botafogo needed to find different takers for the 24-year-old. Benfica of Portugal were among the clubs interested but Atletico presented themselves as a solution and, on Thursday, Almada signed a five-year deal with the La Liga heavyweights, while posing for the cameras with their chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin. Exact details of the deal to take him to the Spanish capital were not made public but sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say Botafogo will receive around €23million up front, plus add-ons, depending on performances. Atletico are happy to have Almada but signing him means they now have four 'non-EU' players on their books and La Liga rules only allow three such players in your squad, so one of Brazilian winger Samuel Lino, English midfielder Conor Gallagher and Argentine right-back Nahuel Molina will have to leave for the newcomer to be registered with the league. Advertisement Negotiations over Almada were made easier as he shares an agent, Augustin Jimenez, with Angel Correa, who was last week sold to Mexican club Tigres after 11 years with Atletico, and another Argentina international at the club, Rodrigo De Paul. De Paul is also close to leaving to join Inter Miami and link up with his national-team captain Lionel Messi at club level. Atletico are open to the idea: De Paul is 31 years old, has less than 12 months left on his contract, and is also one of the best-paid members of the squad, costing them around €13million a year (including tax) in wages. Miami, however, do not currently have a free 'designated player' spot for De Paul to fill, so it is difficult for them to pay him anything close to his current salary. A potential solution could be to join Miami initially on loan, with Atletico covering some of his wages in the short term, but the La Liga club would prefer a permanent move this summer. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles headquartered firm named Ares Management has a financial interest in all of Atletico, Botafogo, Lyon and Miami. The company has provided €400million in funding to Textor's Eagle group, which includes the Brazilian and French sides, invested €220m in Atletico Holdco, the company which is the Spanish team's majority shareholder and provided $225m to help Miami's establishment and growth in MLS since the club was founded in 2018. Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, less than eight hours after Atletico's signing of Almada was announced, Spanish business newspaper Expansion reported that another U.S. firm, Apollo Global Management, was in negotiations to invest in the club's ownership structure. Atletico sources confirmed they were talking to many potential investors as they look for funding for an €800million 'Sports City' project on land it owns surrounding their Estadio Metropolitano home ground. The scheme involves building a new training complex for Diego Simeone's first team, public facilities for golf, padel and skating, and what is planned as Europe's biggest inland surfing centre. Advertisement The connections go even further. In a personal capacity, Jim Miller and Mark Affolter, who hold senior positions at Ares, and Inter Miami's president Jorge Mas are part of the ownership group at Spanish second-division side Real Zaragoza. Raul Sanllehi, once of Arsenal, was Zaragoza's CEO from March 2022 until being named Miami's president of football operations last June, and the MLS team's chief soccer officer Alberto Marrero previously ran Atletico's sister clubs in North America: Atletico San Luis of Mexico's Liga MX and Canadian Premier League club Atletico Ottawa. There is absolutely no suggestion that any of the clubs or individuals involved in any of the deals mentioned in connection with Almada's move to Atletico Madrid have done anything wrong, legally or morally. Almada could well turn out to be a very good investment for them — he has four goals in 10 international appearances, was part of Argentina's triumphant 2022 World Cup squad and, having turned 24 in April, is at an age where he should be coming towards the prime years of his career. Yet, all the links detailed in this article illustrate the complexity of the modern football industry, and the many financial and personal ties which bind together different clubs in various leagues across many continents. (Other contributor: Guillermo Rai)
CNA
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Crystal Palace dropped to UEFA's Conference League in multi-club ownership case
Premier League side Crystal Palace have been dropped in European competition to the third-tier Conference League in a multi-club ownership case, while Olympique Lyonnais will be allowed to play in the Europa League, UEFA said on Friday. The Eagle Football Group are majority owners of Lyon while its chairman John Textor also owns a controlling stake in Palace. Palace had qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season, while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1. A move to relegate them to France's domestic second-tier Ligue 2 over their poor finances was overturned on Wednesday, a decision UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) had been waiting for before ruling on the multi-club ownership case. "Consequently, the CFCB First Chamber pursued the assessment of the documentation submitted by Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace and concluded that the clubs breached, as at 1 March 2025, the multi-club ownership criteria," UEFA said in a statement.
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Crystal Palace face being kicked out of Europa League as Lyon's relegation from Ligue 1 is overturned
CRYSTAL PALACE face being booted into the Conference League after Lyon won their appeal against relegation from the French top flight. Uefa officials now have to rule on whether the FA Cup-winning Eagles can take their place in the Europa League. 2 2 But the signs are that Nyon bosses will rule that Palace 's failure to meet their requirements on clubs under multi-club ownership means they cannot play in the same competition as the French outfit. That's despite US businessman John Textor selling his shares in the Selhurst Park side. And that will see Palace forced to drop down to Uefa 's third competition, with Nottingham Forest promoted in their place. Uefa will now have to make a call after Lyon's appeal to French football's financial regulator, who relegated them over the club's soaring debts, was successful. Lyon had cut a deal with Uefa that they would be allowed to play in the Europa League if their appeal was won but that they would give up any rights to play in European competition if the appeal went against them. In order to satisfy financial chiefs in Paris, Lyon had to find nearly £100m up front by the hearing, with guarantees for another £100m on top. Textor, whose Eagle Football Group also owns Brazilians Botofogo and Belgian side Molenbeek, was kicked off the Lyon board after the initial hearing. It was his 44.9 per cent stake in Palace - despite being kept at arms length from decision-making by chairman Steve Parish and Americans Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer - that meant the club fell foul of Uefa rules. Under those regulations, Palace needed to prove that none of their major shareholders had a significant position at any other club by the March 31 deadline. However, Palace were not expecting their FA Cup success - the first major trophy in their history. Crystal Palace could be KICKED OUT of Europa League before a ball is even kicked That surprise win over Manchester City saw the club suddenly faced with a Uefa hurdle, with Lyon's sixth placed finish in Ligue 1 giving them priority over the South East Londoners. Reacting to the news, a Lyon statement read: 'Olympique Lyonnais welcomes the decision, made today by the DNCG, to keep the Club in Ligue 1. "OL thanks the Appeals Committee for recognising the ambition of the new management of the Club, determined to ensure serious management in the future. "The new management, supported by the commitment and dedication of our shareholders and lenders, is extremely grateful for all the support received both inside and outside the Club, especially from its supporters, collaborators, players, partners and elected officials. 'Today's decision is the first step to restore confidence in Olympique Lyonnais. "We can now focus our attention on sporting objectives, fully preparing for next season.'
