US billionaire who wanted to buy Everton sees club provisionally relegated over debt

Olympique Lyonnais, the French club owned by the US billionaire John Textor, have been hit with provisional relegation to Ligue 2. Textor had been wanting to acquire Everton from Farhad Moshiri earlier this year.

The French side, one of the country’s biggest clubs, have seen the watchdog for the French game, the DNCG, come down strongly and impose severe sanctions on the seven-time Ligue 1 winners and 2020 UEFA Champions League finalists after the club’s debt ballooned from €458m to €508m.

According to reports, Textor had made representations to the DNCG that Lyon would be able to sell players to pay down their debt burden, or players from Botafogo, another club in the Eagle Football Holdings firm Textor owns, could be used. Textor is also in talks over selling his 45% stake in Premier League side Crystal Palace.

READ MORE: Everton compensation case could take a year to reach outcome

READ MORE: 'Wow' - David Seaman blown away by what he saw Jordan Pickford do in training

Lyon have some time to try and avoid the drop into the second tier, but that could come with having to sell off some of their most prized young assets, such as 21-year-old French winger Rayan Cherki.

The French side have been performing below expectations for their hefty wage bill in recent seasons and have been absent from the Champions League since 2021.

Having seen a deal collapse with the long-doomed bid from US investment firm 777 Partners back at the end of May, Textor came on to the scene and declared his interest in taking a controlling stake in the club, although he would have had to divest his interest in Palace before any such deal could go ahead.

Instead, The Friedkin Group returned to the table to agree a deal with Moshiri having initially walked away over some concerns relating to the debt that the club had to 777 Partners. TFG are currently working their way through the regulatory approval process, something that could be completed before the end of the year, installing them as the new owners.

In an interview with Sky Sports earlier this year, when he had been in discussions with Moshiri, Textor said: “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.”