Brazilian courts freeze shares in Botafogo owned by Eagle Group, owner of OL

Brazilian justice on Thursday ordered the freezing of the shares of the American group Eagle Football Holding in the Botafogo club, due to the high debt of the group led by John Textor to the Rio club, according to a decision seen by AFP.

Textor says he used capital from his Brazilian club, the reigning Copa Libertadores champion, which, in his words, " generated a significant amount of money ," to cover the losses of another of his clubs, Olympique Lyonnais in France. A court in Rio de Janeiro found that Eagle owed the Rio club around $27.2 million (€23.8 million) and therefore ordered " the precautionary seizure of Eagle Football Bidco's shares in Botafogo ."

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After admitting to management errors at Lyon, which was saved in extremis from administrative relegation to the second division of the French championship, Textor handed over his place at the helm of the club in June to his American compatriot Michele Kang. On July 9, she succeeded in convincing the appeals committee of the French football financial watchdog that she had " sufficient liquidity to operate " the Lyon club " for the entire season ."

" Some creditors put in money (...), so did I, as did other shareholders ," she later explained to the press. John Textor also owns the Belgian club Molenbeek and sold his stake in Crystal Palace in the English Premier League in June.