American companies are buying up football clubs in Europe in droves, but they have different interests than oligarchs or sheikhs. Soccer is growing in popularity in the host country of the 2026 World Cup, and the industry is responding to the popularity of Hispanics flocking to MLS games and sports bars.
A club from France was still missing in his portfolio. At the end of December it became known that the US tycoon John Textor was leaving the football club Olympic Lyon took over. The billionaire with holographs Michael Jackson and Tupac resurrected on stage and was reported by business magazine “Forbes“, referred to as “Hollywood’s virtual reality guru”, took over the majority of the traditional club with his holding company in the summer of 2022. Now he holds 80 percent, for 884 million euros. Textor is involved in several clubs, including being a shareholder in Crystal Palace and RWD Molenbeek.
In Lyon he wants to build on the glorious times when Olympic won the title seven times in a row between 2001 and 2007. The media entrepreneur, who made a name for himself in the industry as CEO of the streaming service FuboTV, has had his eye on European clubs for some time.
