Eagle Football's shares in Botafogo frozen by Brazilian courts

Due to the high debt of the American group Eagle Football Holding, headed by John Textor, the Brazilian courts ordered on Thursday, July 31, the freezing of its shares in the Botafogo club, based in Rio de Janeiro, according to a decision seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

John Textor says he used the capital of the Rio team, reigning champion of the Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the European Champions League – which, according to him , “generated a significant amount of money” , to cover the losses of Olympique Lyonnais (OL) in France, which he also owns.

A court in Rio de Janeiro has estimated that Eagle Football owes Botafogo around $27.2 million (nearly €23.8 million) and has therefore ordered "the precautionary seizure of [its] shares" in the club.

After admitting to management errors at Lyon – saved in extremis from administrative relegation to Ligue 2, the second division of the championship – John Textor left his place at the head of the Rhône team to his American compatriot Michele Kang at the end of June.

On July 9, she succeeded in convincing the appeals committee of the DNCG, the financial watchdog of French football, that she had "sufficient liquidity to operate [OL] "for the entire season . " "Some creditors put in money (...) , me too, as did other shareholders," she then explained to the press.

John Textor also owns Belgian club Molenbeek and sold his stake in English Premier League side Crystal Palace in June.