John Textor, majority owner of Botafogo, Crystal Palace, and Olympique Lyonnais, is stirring controversy with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) due to his recent remarks.
In an interview with the Brazilian outlet Globo, Textor expressed his ambition to “kick PSG’s ass,” while acknowledging the financial disparity between Lyon and the Parisian club. “We have to compete with Qatar in France,” Textor said. “I’m in competition with a country, not an owner. A model of unbridled spending, without restrictions. I have to contend with that as an owner of one of the great clubs in France. Now that great club can’t compete for anything other than second place.”
Following these comments, PSG, through their general secretary Victoriano Melero, has threatened legal action against Textor. In a letter obtained by RMC Sport, Melero responded to several public statements from Textor that have either directly or indirectly criticized the French champions. “[Textor] mentions that you are competing against a country, ignoring the fact that a significant part of our club is today owned by American investors Arctos, coming, as we thought you knew, from the United States,” the letter stated.
Textor also criticized the winning bid from UK broadcaster DAZN and Qatar-based beIN Sports, stating in a press release that “signing a long-term deal with traditional broadcasting models is looking towards the past; we should be turning to the future.” Instead, Lyon and its owner preferred the alternative choice: the LFP’s new model of a channel 100 percent owned by the league. He argued that it was “an opportunity to innovate and build a platform that meets the expectations of our consumers today and tomorrow.”
In response to Textor’s remarks, PSG’s letter ended with a warning: “If you continue your defamatory and damaging comments, we will be forced to add you to our growing number of legal actions in Brazil with an additional procedure in France.”
