A deal for the Friedkin Group to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire 94.1% stake in Everton was announced on September 23 but Textor has now revealed that he was very close to completing the deal himself.
The American businessman has a 45% stake in Crystal Palace, also owns RWD Molenbeek in Belgium and Botafogo in Brazil, but wanted to acquire the Toffees to add to his portfolio.
Textor told Ole: “In England, we thought we were very close to Everton. I think I’ll probably say it for the first time publicly now.
“We didn’t realise that we were 24 hours away, our documents were ready, and we were ready to send the money and they were still going through a bidding process with another buyer."
He says he is not too disappointed with the failed deal however and believes it is fate that it never came to fruition.
“Sometimes you can achieve a lot with a handshake. Other times you need more than a handshake. And that was a situation where we lost because we were too confident in the outcome.
“So, I make mistakes, the Everton thing didn’t happen, there’s probably a reason for that. I think there are reasons for everything.
“And I think we’re going to end up with a better situation in the Premier League. And there’s a reason why that didn’t happen and something else will.”