New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is finally set to get his hands on an English soccer team. Premier League side Crystal Palace announced on Monday that Johnson has signed “a legally binding contract” to buy the shares of fellow American John Textor, who has a 43% stake in the London club.
Reports have placed the price between $220 million and $260 million. In 2000, Johnson purchased his first sports team, the Jets, for $635 million. That was, at the time, a record price for a New York professional sports team, and the third-most for any team.
“Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club,” Palace said in a statement.
“We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future.”
Johnson submitted a bid to buy Chelsea in 2022 but was unsuccessful.
The sale of Textor’s shares boosts Palace’s hopes of playing in the Europa League next season, having qualified thanks to its FA Cup final victory over Manchester City last month.
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Textor is also a shareholder in French side Lyon, which is set to enter the same competition, and under UEFA multi-club ownership rules, it looked as if Palace could miss out.
Johnson previously served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, from 2017 to 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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