Johnson completes purchase of stake in Crystal Palace

Woody Johnson has bought Eagle Football Holdings – the multi-club company owned by John Textor - shareholding in Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have confirmed that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has completed his purchase of John Textor's 43% stake in the club.

Johnson has bought the shareholding of Eagle Football Holdings - the multi-club company owned by Textor - in a deal believed to be worth close to £190m.

The 78-year-old American has signed the Premier League's owners' charter after joining chairman Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer as a partner and director of Crystal Palace.

"I am honoured and privileged to be joining the ownership group of Crystal Palace Football Club," Johnson told the club's official website.

"It is an organisation with a proud history, tradition, and deep roots in English football in south London, which I came to admire during my time as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

"Eagles fans have demonstrated extraordinary loyalty, passion, and unwavering dedication and I am excited to meet and get to know them."

Parish added: "We are delighted to be welcoming Woody to the ownership of the football club.

"We very much look forward to working alongside him to build on our historic recent success moving forwards."

Johnson is a former US ambassador to the United Kingdom who bought the NFL's Jets in 2000.

He is one of the heirs of the Johnson family that founded the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his wealth at about £6.8bn ($9.18bn) in 2024.

Textor sells as Palace fight Europa League demotion

American businessman Textor bought a stake in the club in 2021 but ends his association with Palace as they attempt to overturn Uefa's decision to demote them from the Europa League to the Conference League.

The Eagles were punished for breaching multi-club ownership rules as Textor had a stake in the club and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Palace have submitted an appeal against Uefa's decision and against French club Lyon and Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, are expected replace FA Cup winners Palace in the Europa League should the punishment stand.

The rules of European football's governing body state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.

Uefa's rules set a deadline of 1 March 2025 to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring - a deadline Palace missed.

They argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa did not accept the Premier League club's defence.

Speaking to The Rest is Football podcast last week, Parish said he was "very hopeful" the decision would be overturned.

"We don't think this is the right decision by any means. We know, unequivocally, that John [Textor] didn't have decisive influence over the club," he said.

"We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it's a fact."