How John Textor made his money amid Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace takeover situations | OneFootball

John Textor has sold his share in Crystal Palace triggering speculation that he could be set to buy Sheffield Wednesday. Here's how he made his money.

The news that John Textor has sold his shareholding in Crystal Palace has triggered a wave of speculation that he is about to purchase Sheffield Wednesday.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday are having an extremely difficult summer, with a three-window transfer embargo over wages and HMRC paid late during the 2024-25 season and ongoing speculation concerning the future of head coach Danny Rohl, amid rumours of a complete breakdown in relations with club owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Bids have already been made by an American consortium fronted by the Sheffield-born businessman Adam Shaw.

These two bids were both rejected, with the club describing the first one as "derisory". Shaw has since confirmed that the two bids made for Wednesday were for £48 million and £55 million.

Textor bought his stake in Palace in August 2021, paying a reported £87.5 million for a 40% share.

In 2023, he increased his stake by 5% after injecting a further £30 million into the club. He is reported to have sold his stake in Palace to the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson for £190 million.

Textor comes from a background in technology and Virtual Reality

John Textor's background is in technology.

He is the former executive chair of the streaming service fuboTV, which holds rights to the Premier League, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS, and retains a shareholding in the company.

He previously served as Executive Chair, CEO and Head of Studio of Facebank Group, a developer of digital human likenesses, and was also involved in a VR company called DigitalDomain, which later collapsed, as well as taking a struggling online retailer called BabyUniverse through a public IPO before arranging a merger with another company, EToys.

Textor is a keen proponent of the multi-club ownership model

Textor's involvement in football hasn't been limited to Crystal Palace, and he is a keen proponent of the multi-club model of club ownership.

In January 2022 he agreed to buy a controlling share in the Brazilian club Botafogo, and in the same week also bought into the Belgian club RWB Molenbeek. At the end of 2022, he bought a controlling share in the French club Olympique Lyonnais.

Textor's involvement at clubs outside England hasn't been without controversy. He has been linked with numerous other clubs, including Benfica and Everton, and at the end of the 2024-25 season Lyon were demoted from Ligue Un because of their financial problems.

Also in June 2025, it was confirmed that RWB Molenbeek would be changing their name to Daring Brussels, a name used by the club in the 19th century but which hasn't been universally popular, while as of May 2023 Botafogo were reported to be almost £100 million in debt.

The multi-club model has presented Textor with problems, and there was a serious risk that Crystal Palace could be expelled from next season's Europa League because of his shareholding in Lyon. The sale of his stake in the club removes any concerns that Palace fans might have had concerning that coming to pass.

Sheffield Wednesday are in a delicate position at the moment and require delicate handling. It has been clear for a long time that supporters would love to see the back of current owner Dejphon Chansiri. In the event that it happens, they will be hoping that his ownership of their club will look more like what happened to Crystal Palace last season than what happened to Lyon.