Copyright yardbarker
John Textor has reportedly tabled an offer to acquire Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to The Athletic. The offer is £149 million in cash and £262 million in shares. The pitch is ambitious, but it’s unlikely to be accepted. Wolves owners Fosun are reportedly not interested in absorbing Textor’s share offer structure and, more crucially, only intend to sell a minority stake in the club, not full control. John Textor’s £400 million Offer For Wolves Has Drawn Attention And Scepticism After Controversies At Lyon And Crystal Palace A Man With A Multi-club Empire And A History Of Controversy Textor is no newcomer to football investment. His holding company, Eagle Football Holdings, owns major stakes in clubs across several countries, most notably Olympique Lyonnais and Botafogo. His recent exit from Crystal Palace in the Premier League followed a dramatic sequence of events. The side were penalised by UEFA and demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League for a breach of multi-club ownership rules, while Textor held stakes in both Palace and Lyon. The backlash from fans has been real. Among Eagles fans, the sense of frustration at the lack of transparency and the perception of commercial “asset flipping” grew. Similarly, at Lyon and in Belgium (with Molenbeek), his multi-club model has drawn criticism for layering investment risk over community identity. What It Means For Wolves For Wolves, the prospect of a takeover by Textor raises mixed signals. On one hand, his global network and focus on sourcing South American and Portuguese-speaking players might fit with the Wanderers’ recruitment strategy. On the other hand, Fosun’s current stance is that the club isn’t for sale, but they are open to investment. This suggests they want to retain control and may be unwilling to relinquish ownership of the club, particularly when the offer isn’t 100% cash. Additionally, Textor’s empire has not been without financial stress. His Eagle Group has been subject to legal claims and concerns about large-scale debt, which raises questions among Wolves fans about his capacity to deliver stable, long-term investment rather than short-term profit. John Textor’s offer to the team sounds headline-grabbing, and in some ways it is. But the complexity of his ownership model, Wolves’ own preferences and Fosun’s reluctance to sell majority control all make this a high-risk proposition. For fans, the question now is whether this bid is a genuine pathway to change or simply the latest chapter in the multi-club investment drama that has tripped up others before.
