December 4 – John Textor has attempted to clarify remarks suggesting he and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis were able to “adjust” transfer fees between their clubs – comments that triggered renewed scrutiny of multi-club ownership networks and the blurred boundaries of influence within them.
Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings group boasts stakes in a number of clubs including Brazil’s Botafogo and France’s Olympique Lyonnais, had described Marinakis as effectively a “partner” during an interview with Botafogo fans’ channel Canal do TF.
Marinakis owns Forest, Greek giant Olympiacos and Portuguese side Rio Ave, and the two men have traded a number of players in recent seasons.
“A lot of those numbers (transfer fees) will bounce around… sometimes it’s part of making an adjustment because you trade with that particular friend in a lot of situations,” Textor said, using the example of striker Igor Jesus, who joined Forest from Botafogo this summer.
The comments immediately raised questions over how such “adjustments” fit within financial fair play frameworks – particularly given the high-profile €34m sale of Moussa Niakhaté from Forest to Textor’s Lyon in July 2024, a deal that played a role in Forest avoiding Premier League sanctions.
Speaking to The Times, Textor insisted the controversy stemmed from an “awkward translation”, stressing that the practice he referred to was “not unusual at all”. “Every deal is a negotiation,” he said. “If you adjust the negotiation of a transfer fee, that’s not the same thing as adjusting a transfer fee.”
He dismissed claims of inappropriate coordination with Marinakis. “What I object to is people saying there’s some sinister relationship between me and Marinakis, because people are going after him,” he said.
His spokesperson went further in comments to The Athletic, arguing that Textor was simply describing “a relationship with a regular trading partner” and insisting Eagle’s transfers had “always been conducted in accordance with the appropriate regulations”.
Still, the relationship between the two owners has already surfaced in legal proceedings.
Lawyers for Crystal Palace referenced it during their submission to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July, when challenging their demotion from the Europa League due to Textor’s dual involvement in Lyon and Palace – a vacancy ultimately filled by Marinakis’ Forest.
The Premier League told The Athletic that all transfers are subject to its fair market value assessment and that no deals involving Forest or Palace have been flagged.
Textor, for his part, is keen to reframe the narrative. “What if I have a strategy where I’m creating a pathway; a regular pathway from Brazil into the Premier League?” he asked.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1764848886labto1764848886ofdlr1764848886owedi1764848886sni@g1764848886niwe.1764848886yrrah1764848886
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