NBA star Jimmy Butler set to make £147m offer for stake in Premier League club

Jimmy Butler is reportedly involved in a consortium looking to offer north of £147million for a stake in Crystal Palace. The FA Cup winners are facing uncertainty over their Europa League participation next season due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Textor has been in talks over the sale of a stake in PalaceGetty American businessman John Textor holds shares in the club, and his Eagle Football Holdings also control French side Lyon. Both clubs have qualified for the 2025/26 Europa League and despite concerns, talkSPORT understands Palace are expected to stay in it. Eagle Football own a 43 per cent stake in Palace, and The Athletic report that this of interest to the aforementioned consortium. Bejan Esmaili, a former Morgan Stanley sports executive, leads the group alongside ex-Roc Nation attorney Wajid Mir. The pair are said to have agreed a period of exclusivity with Textor in January, although they allowed this to expire. Golden State Warriors star Butler has now joined the group, who plan to offer more than $200m [147m]. The 35-year-old is a six-time NBA All-Star and won gold for the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Palace will be valued in excess of $465m [343m] if the group’s offer is accepted and talks with Textor have already taken place. talkSPORT understands that UEFA don’t construe Textor as holding a controlling influence at Palace. They also recognise the value of having the Eagles in next season’s Europa League after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final. Butler is reportedly part of the consortiumGetty Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest wrote to UEFA to express their concerns over Palace falling foul of the multi-ownership rules. However, talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan questioned why Forest wanted to have an input on the situation. “If I were Nottingham Forest, would I feel a necessity to put my two penn’orth in when UEFA have already made their position clear that Crystal Palace need to find a solution to the problem?” he said. “Crystal Palace and Lyon need to find a solution to the potential problem that they’ve got, and I don’t think it needs Nottingham Forest to put their two penn’orth in. “But Marinakis being [Evangelos, owner] Marinakis, he will suggest that, ‘Actually, we had the foresight to avoid the same problem.’ “I mean, the ridiculousness of this all is that if Nottingham Forest need some money through the course of next season, who are they going to go to? Palace are expected to be in the Europa League next seasonGetty “They’re going to go to Marinakis, because he’s the only person that’s going to write a cheque out. “The fact that he’s resigned as a director at Nottingham Forest and put his shareholding into a blind trust to get himself around European rules, tells you that the rules themselves are slightly ludicrous. “You either allow multi-club ownership and you run the gauntlet of what it represents, or you don’t allow it.”

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NBA star Jimmy Butler set to make £147m offer for stake in Premier League club

Jimmy Butler is reportedly involved in a consortium looking to offer north of £147million for a stake in Crystal Palace.

The FA Cup winners are facing uncertainty over their Europa League participation next season due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

Textor has been in talks over the sale of a stake in Palace

American businessman John Textor holds shares in the club, and his Eagle Football Holdings also control French side Lyon.

Both clubs have qualified for the 2025/26 Europa League and despite concerns, talkSPORT understands Palace are expected to stay in it.

Eagle Football own a 43 per cent stake in Palace, and The Athletic report that this of interest to the aforementioned consortium.

Bejan Esmaili, a former Morgan Stanley sports executive, leads the group alongside ex-Roc Nation attorney Wajid Mir.

The pair are said to have agreed a period of exclusivity with Textor in January, although they allowed this to expire.

Golden State Warriors star Butler has now joined the group, who plan to offer more than $200m [147m].

The 35-year-old is a six-time NBA All-Star and won gold for the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Palace will be valued in excess of $465m [343m] if the group’s offer is accepted and talks with Textor have already taken place.

talkSPORT understands that UEFA don’t construe Textor as holding a controlling influence at Palace.

They also recognise the value of having the Eagles in next season’s Europa League after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final.

Butler is reportedly part of the consortium

Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest wrote to UEFA to express their concerns over Palace falling foul of the multi-ownership rules.

However, talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan questioned why Forest wanted to have an input on the situation.

“If I were Nottingham Forest, would I feel a necessity to put my two penn’orth in when UEFA have already made their position clear that Crystal Palace need to find a solution to the problem?” he said.

“Crystal Palace and Lyon need to find a solution to the potential problem that they’ve got, and I don’t think it needs Nottingham Forest to put their two penn’orth in.

“But Marinakis being [Evangelos, owner] Marinakis, he will suggest that, ‘Actually, we had the foresight to avoid the same problem.’

“I mean, the ridiculousness of this all is that if Nottingham Forest need some money through the course of next season, who are they going to go to?

Palace are expected to be in the Europa League next season

“They’re going to go to Marinakis, because he’s the only person that’s going to write a cheque out.

“The fact that he’s resigned as a director at Nottingham Forest and put his shareholding into a blind trust to get himself around European rules, tells you that the rules themselves are slightly ludicrous.

“You either allow multi-club ownership and you run the gauntlet of what it represents, or you don’t allow it.”