3 months ago
15
American businessman John Textor is making "progress" in his bid to buy Everton but the club say there is "some work to be done to complete the transaction".
BBC Sport reported on 15 August that Crystal Palace co-owner Textor has been granted a period of exclusivity as he aims to buy Blues owner Farhad Moshiri's majority stake in the club.
Any deal is dependent on Textor selling his 45% stake in Palace, as Premier League rules prohibit individuals from owning more than one team.
In an interview with Sky Sports, external on Thursday, Textor compared owning Everton to becoming President of the USA.
The 58-year-old also said he has received two "good bids" for his Palace stake and has a contract with Moshiri to complete a deal for Everton by a deadline of 30 November.
Everton interim CEO Colin Chong said later on Thursday: "The club is aware of the comments made by John Textor in relation to a potential purchase of the club.
"While positive conversations and progress continues to be made with Mr Textor to formalise any deal with him, there remains some work to be done to complete the transaction.
"Accordingly, the comments made by Mr Textor merely represent his personal view on club matters.
"Everyone at the club is staying focused on providing the best support possible to [manager] Sean [Dyche] and the squad as we head into the weekend's fixture."
In an in depth interview with Sky, Textor was asked about the challenges of completing the deal, pressure from Everton supporters and the club's new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock.
Textor became the latest party in the frame to take over the Toffees after talks broke down with both 777 Partners and the Friedkin Group this summer.
Through his company Eagle Football Holdings, Textor already has a number of stakes in other clubs, including Lyon in France, Brazilian side Botafogo and Belgian club Molenbeek.
"Nobody wakes up and thinks, 'I get to buy Everton'," he said.
"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.
"Let's be frank, the failure of others has been the blessing that we get to walk in to - which means that anybody could outbid me at any time. I have a qualified period of exclusivity, but exclusives don't matter if Farhad gets an offer tomorrow that is supremely better than mine.
"I wouldn't force him to do a bad deal with me. The longer this takes, the greater the probability that there's some other smart guy out there that wakes up and see this as a great deal, as it is.
"Right now, this seems to be our opportunity and we hope to close."
Manager Dyche's Everton lie bottom of the Premier League table without a point, having lost all three of their opening games including the last-gasp, 3-2 home defeat by Bournemouth before the international break.
They travel to Aston Villa on Saturday (kick-off 17:30 BST) as they look to kick start their season.
Asked about Textor's comments in his pre-match news conference, Dyche said: "I don't know about the resolution, that is for upstairs, the bigger picture and financial side of the club.
"Regarding the comments, if you are a prospective owner and you are going to comment, you are asked certain questions and that is the way it goes - finding out about what you are prospectively going to buy or getting a feel.
"I haven't had the chance [to speak to him], I don't think the deal is to that position. If you are a prospective owner, you probably would want to build a relationship or certainly know the manager in any situation.
"He isn't the current owner but if he did take over then I am sure you would have that conversation but I think that is standard practice."
