- Everton avoided financial ruin as Textor’s Eagle Football empire collapsed.
- Quinn’s expert analysis exposes unsustainable debt behind failed takeover.
- TFG provides the stability and capital that Textor simply never possessed.
Everton’s chaotic ownership saga is now in the past. The Friedkin Group have brought stability to Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the Toffees are pushing for European football. But the focus on what might have been remains, specifically, the near‑miss with John Textor.
The American Eagle Football group was put into administration at the end of March by main creditor Ares Capital Corporation. Administrators are now seeking buyers for stakes in Botafogo, Olympique Marseille and RWDM. For Everton, it is a moment of relief.
Quinn: ‘I knew this wasn’t possible’
Paul Quinn, a lifelong Evertonian and independent analyst, has become a key figure among Botafogo fans in Brazil for his dissection of Textor’s collapse. Quinn had studied Textor closely when the American appeared close to acquiring Everton in 2024.
“When Everton were facing severe financial difficulties, I took a keen interest in finding out who our future owners might be,” Quinn told O Globo.
He quickly dismissed Textor as a credible option. “I knew this wasn’t possible due to his stake in Crystal Palace and the high debt levels within his multi-club operations. I doubted he possessed the funds he claimed to have, and I also questioned the business model of Eagle Football Holdings.”
Textor had publicly declared his interest in the Toffees, even claiming he was days from completing a deal before losing out to The Friedkin Group. But Quinn saw through the rhetoric.
Everton missed a bullet with Textor
Quinn’s analysis of Textor’s structure revealed a model that was never sustainable.
“It is simple: Textor lacked the capital to acquire, invest in, and sustain the clubs he purchased,” he explained. “He relied entirely on extremely costly loans from Ares, a predatory lender. Furthermore, he lacked the free cash flow to continue funding the losses incurred by the entire group. Eagle was unsustainably leveraged and was using Botafogo to subsidize the rest of the business.”
For Everton, Quinn’s findings confirm what many suspected. Textor’s public flirtation with the Toffees was never financially credible. The debt load, the reliance on high‑interest borrowing, and the shuffling of cash across clubs and continents made any takeover attempt impossible.
‘A poor owner can prop up a failing club’
Quinn’s conclusion sees the collapse as a warning about the multi‑club ownership model itself.
“This entire situation highlights the inherent fragilities of the multi-club ownership model,” he said. “A poor owner can utilise the assets of a high-performing club to prop up one facing financial difficulties, and to me, this seems fundamentally wrong.”
Everton dodged a bullet. Instead of Textor’s leveraged empire, the Toffees have The Friedkin Group, who have cleared debt, stabilised finances, and backed David Moyes. As Quinn’s analysis makes clear, the alternative would have been a very different story.
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