Marinakis & Textor to Unite MCOs and ARES Management now controls John Textor Eagle Football Holdings

John Textor has been forced to cede day-to-day control while retaining only nominal majority ownership of Eagle Football Holdings (EFH)

Eagle Football Holdings Midco Ltd (Parent company)

• 65.4% John Textor

• 34.6% Other Investors (percentages unknown) 

• Iconic Sports: $75m

• Elmwood Partners: Additional equity investment (amount undisclosed)

• Michelle Kang 

• Ares Management: Across three tranches has provided approximately $500m in debt financing for EFH

Eagle Football Holdings Clubs Bidco (The Acquisition Vehicle)

• 87.69%: Olympique Lyonnais (France) - 93.84% voting rights

• 90% Botafogo FR (Brazil)

• 80% RWDM Brussels (Belgium)

• Several media reports suggest ARES Management forced John Textor to sell his 43% stake in Crystal Palace FC (England) of which was sold to Woody Johnson in July 2025 for £190m. ARES Management received the majority of the proceeds from this sell.

• Eagle Football is drowning in £880 million ($1.2 billion) including total debt, $493m owed to Ares Management including $159 million at a brutal 19.4% interest rate and $75m to iconic Sports at 11% annual interest

• Potential seizure of stadium assets (Groupama Stadium worth $346m is collateral) If Ares insisted on immediate payback.

BOTAFOGO FR

• 90% EFH Botafogo SAF

• 10% Botafogo Social Club but owns 100% of the SAF shares structure

Ironic Protection for Textor

• July 31 Court ordered the precautionary seizure of EFH Bidco's shares in Botafogo SAF

• Court action was initiated against Textor and EFH by Botafogo's own legal team to protect the club from financial exploitation

• Amount: $27.2m (R$152m) debt owed by Eagle to Botafogo

• Assets frozen: Eagle's 90% stake in Botafogo SAF

• Prohibition: Eagle cannot sell, transfer, or negotiate its Botafogo shares until debt is settled

• Prevents hostile takeover, ARES Management or other creditors cannot access Botafogo as collateral

• March 2023 Precedent: A regional labor court previously froze Botafogo's assets over R$10 million in unpaid debts

Marinakis & Textor to Unite MCOs or Whats in it for Marinakis

• John Textor is planning to create a new holding company ‘"Eagle Football Group 2.0’ in the Cayman Islands to acquire Botafogo

• Marinakis is rumoured to be providing financial backing to acquire Botafogo and RWDM Brussels (Belgium)

• Marinakis Long-standing interest in Brazilian football (previously attempted to buy Vasco and São Paulo)

ICONIC SPORTS

• Iconic Sports made a $75 million equity investment in Eagle Football Holdings to support John Textor's acquisition of Olympique Lyonnais in December 2022. This investment was part of a broader financing consortium that included:

• As part of the original $75m investment, Iconic Sports negotiated a put option allowing them to force Textor to buy back their $75 million stake plus 11% annual interest if the SPAC merger failed

ICONIC Sports - Legal Battle

July 2025: Dual lawsuits filed:

• Iconic Sports vs. Textor (London): Demanding approximately $94 million (original $75M + interest).

• Textor vs. Iconic Sports (Florida): Alleging securities fraud and claiming Iconic knew the SPAC would fail due to Alexander Knaster's alleged ties to sanctioned Russian individuals.

ICONIC SPORTS

• Iconic Sports is an investment group formed in 2021, comprising several high-profile investors

• James G. Dinan (Jamie Dinan): Founder of York Capital Management hedge fund (AuM $25bn)

  • co-owner of NBA's Milwaukee Bucks (25%)

• Alexander Knaster: Founder of Pamplona Capital Management (AuM $15bn)

  • owner of AC Pisa 1909 (Italy)

• Edward Eisler: Founder of Eisler Capital a multi-strategy hedge fund management firm headquartered in London (AuM $4bn)

• Tifosy Capital & Advisory Fausto Zanetton (Founder & CEO): London-based sports advisory firm

• Inter Milan takeover by Oaktree Capital - Exclusive financial advisor on €275m financing and security enforcement

• Fausto Zanetton was appointed to the Inter Milan Board of Directors in June 2024 following Oaktree Capital's takeover, serving as an independent director to attract additional investment

• Inter Miami CF - Facilitated Ares Management's investment

Tifosy Active Club Partnerships:

• Venezia FC - €1,000 minimum bond offering with 7.5% annual interest plus 15% bonus if promoted to Serie A

• Norwich City - £3.5 million Canaries Bond to fund academy development.

• QPR - Bond scheme to fund new training ground project

• Peterborough and Stevenage Fan Investment Platform

Elmwood Partners

• Technology-focused investment firm $608m AuM, minority investor in Eagle Football Holdings via links with JT many technological companies.