Everything John Textor has said about a Sheffield Wednesday takeover amid £50m Owls talk | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look back at what John Textor has said about taking over Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday will intend on finding themselves under fresh ownership before long after entering administration at the end of October, which ultimately forced Dejphon Chansiri out of Hillsborough in a rare positive development for the Owls.

The end of Chansiri's reign had been ruinous, and Wednesday have been left to pick up the pieces following the Thai businessman's departure.

Relegation to League One long represented a near-certainty, even more so after Wednesday were struck with a fresh six-point deduction from the EFL, with multiple embargoes having been sanctioned over recent times as a result of Chansiri's mismanagement.

As of right now, the bottom-placed Championship outfit are currently being overseen by administrators as they continue to search for new owners. A litany of names have been linked to a takeover of Wednesday, with John Textor's among the most prominent.

American businessman Textor, who owns Brazilian outfit Botofogo alongside Lyon and RWDM Brussels as part of the Eagle Football Holdings group, having also previously held a minority stake in Crystal Palace before selling it earlier this year, has discussed Wednesday on a number of occasions amid his interest in taking over the Owls.

With that in mind, Football League World has taken a look at everything Textor has publicly said about Wednesday.

Everything John Textor has said about Sheffield Wedneday amid takeover talk

Textor's interest in taking over Sheffield Wednesday was first reported by The Star in June, and just one month later, the Missouri-born businessman described the Owls as an "example of what's wrong with English football."

Textor was making reference to Profit and Sustainability rules, but mentioned Wednesday, unprompted, on more than one occasion, while he also described how he wants to see the Steel City side competing at the highest level and having "favourite clubs" in the Championship.

The 60-year-old said, via talkSPORT: "I really like Championship-level clubs more than I like Premier League-level clubs,

"I’m not going to say it publicly because they’re owned by people, but I have my favourite clubs. But I don’t have a right to throw their name into a ridiculous discussion of what I’m doing next.

“I think Sheffield Wednesday, to me, is the example of what’s wrong with English football. Because they should still have a chance at winning a championship every year, and they don’t.

"So when people talk about Manchester City having this historic win, they’re not really historic when they have that kind of advantage. So I’d love to see the rules allow a Sheffield Wednesday to win the Premier League again. I don’t know if that day will ever happen."

"I think if Sheffield Wednesday finds an investor that has a lot of capital, then he should be able to use that capital to climb up the table. Because everybody has the ability to write a cogent business plan and sell their community and club to an investor.

"There are literally going to be four or five big teams forever, and it’s always going to be the case."

A month later, however, Textor would double down and make his interest much clearer. Speaking to journalist Alan Myers, Textor revealed that he was "definitely interested" in taking over the Owls, describing his intention to purchase a "traditional English club". He labelled Wednesday as a club and community he would "want to help" in the most telling admission of his interest in the Championship side.

Textor admitted: "I have always been a fan of the most traditional English clubs.

“My great-grandfather was English, and I have long understood the importance of Sheffield Wednesday in the history of football.

"I often cite the club as an example of what’s wrong with football today, the lack of parity, because of the influence of money, and I wish there was a system where the Sheffield Wednesdays of the world could be champions again.

"Whenever I talk about how I think the system should be better, I often use Sheffield Wednesday as the example of the big traditional club that deserves to be champions or at least have the opportunity to be.

"It’s true that I am looking for a traditional English club to buy, or with which I can partner, I just have not spoken with anybody at Sheffield Wednesday yet, and I am monitoring the situation, hoping to better understand it.

"I’m definitely interested, It’s a lot to solve in a short amount of time with regards to taking advantage of the transfer window but it’s definitely a club and community I would like to help."

Then in October, shortly before Wednesday officially entered administration, Textor took time to discuss the Owls once more. Speaking to Myers again, the former Crystal Palace chief dubbed the extent of his involvement as "a bit overstated" — although he did admit how, though not possible, he would've loved to "come in tomorrow."

Textor described Chansiri's open-mindedness during discussions over future ownership at Hillsborough prior to his exit, but outlined the difficulty and complications regarding Wednesday's situation.

He explained: "Specifically with respect to Wednesday, I hate to say anything controversial to the fans, but the owner - at least in my experience - has been very open to ideas.

"I’ve had a little bit of interaction, some direct, and I know he’s very concerned about the club, even if it may not look like it.

"What changes he’s had in his life that have led to this separation between his future and the club’s future, I don’t want to comment on that. What I will say is that, more recently, I’ve been pleased by their open-mindedness to talk about ideas.

"I’d say it’s really complicated. Wednesday are one of the clubs that we’re looking at, and it’s not that I wouldn’t love to come in tomorrow, but they’re in a very difficult situation.

"There’s a lot to figure out with the owner, there’s a lot to figure out with the league itself, and there’s not a lot of time to figure it out. I think half to two-thirds of that squad is under the age of 21, and by the time we could get in and address things if we were to agree a deal, I hope it’s not too late.

"They’re fighting hard, the fans are supporting the squad if not the owner, and everybody is rooting for it to work out.

"But I think it’s been a bit overstated in terms of the extent we’re involved. We’re one of about three or four groups that are getting an appropriate amount of open-mindedness from the owner."

John Textor would have to show £50m proof of funds at Sheffield Wednesday

At the time of writing, Textor has not since discussed his pursuit of purchasing Sheffield Wednesday. That's definitely not to say he's out of the running, however, despite emerging interest in Championship rivals Derby County ahead of the Owls.

In any case, Textor would have to — if he hasn't already — display a £50 million proof of funds, which has been demanded of all prospective owners by the administrators in order to show just how serious and financially-capable they are.

Last month, BBC Radio Sheffield's Rob Staton revealed that no fewer than ten unnamed parties had displayed the relevant proof of funds.

Whether Textor was involved or not only remains to be seen — the American's net worth has been suggested as potentially being as high as between $75 million to $100 million (£56 million to £74 million) — but with his aforementioned Eagles Football Holdings group described to be facing "severe financial distress" by French outlet L'Equipe, there will be question marks surrounding his ability to meet the investment threshold and, indeed, the wider controversies involving the businessman in recent years.