Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted John Textor will have an “issue” if the Toffees and Lyon qualify for the same Uefa competition in the future.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed Textor will have to place shares in one of the clubs into a “blind trust”, following Man United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Textor was granted a period of exclusivity on 15 August to buy owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% stake in Everton.
The American already owns a stake in Crystal Palace and must sell his shares before taking control on Merseyside.
He also owns majority stakes at Lyon, Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek.
Everton and Lyon face Textor ‘issue’, says Wyness
Wyness insisted it would be a “messy situation” if Everton and Lyon were both successful enough to play in Europe.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “The Uefa rules are if Textor has two clubs playing in the same Uefa competition, there will be an issue.
“This has happened with Man United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently. The shares in Nice have been parked in a blind trust in Cheltenham, of all places.
“There is then no control being exercised by Ratcliffe while his two teams are playing each other.
“It’s a messy situation, I don’t think it’s the one that these owners would prefer – but multi-club networks do tend to lead to these conflicts.
“I’m a big proponent of these networks being crafted properly.
