During the first few weeks and months of the 2025/26 season, American businessman John Textor was extensively associated with a takeover of a number of English clubs.
This comes after the 60-year-old sold all of his stakes in Crystal Palace, the Premier League, FA Cup winners, and current UEFA Europa Conference League participants, for £190 million to Woody Johnson, the owner of New York Jets.
Textor was at the forefront of a contentious UEFA ruling, during which the European organisation deemed the Eagles to have violated its’multi-club’ ownership rules due to Textor’s involvement with Ligue 1 side and French giants, Lyon, who also qualified for the UEFA Europa League at the end of last season despite fears of financial uncertainty and a potential relegation to Ligue 2.
As a result, the Botafogo owner is currently looking for the latest team to join his Eagle Football Holdings empire, which was valued at £1.47 billion as of November 2024.
As a result, the American has been tracking several Premier League and Championship clubs, most notably Sheffield Wednesday, who are now in administration after being placed there by former owner Dejphon Chansiri.
However, the Owls compete with numerous divisional competitors on this front, with Textor aware of boardroom difficulties at Derby County, Charlton Athletic, Watford, and Queens Park Rangers.
Having said that, Football League World recruited the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI-based algorithm, and requested the computer to evaluate the worth of the two London clubs as well as the Hornets, amid speculation of a Textor takeover.
AI anticipates QPR, Charlton Athletic, and Watford FC prices amid John Textor acquisition talks.
All three clubs have previously been the subject of controversial ownership groups, with Watford still under the Pozzo family’s regime, Charlton under the watchful eye of SE7 Partners following a 2023 takeover, and Rangers under the joint ownership of Ruben Gnanalingam, Richard Reilly, and Amit Bhatia.
Textor’s interest in the trio arose amid reports of another ambitious purchase of Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Rangers appear to be considerably more solid on and off the pitch now, following years of turmoil under Tony Fernandes, which nearly resulted in relegation to League One in the 2022/23 season.
Despite this, AI classifies the Hoops as a “high-risk” asset worth potentially between £40m and £70m at the moment, though it believes a bullish owner may look to clinch a transaction worth more than £80m, which appears to be incredibly ambitious.
Once again, AI cited the capital city location as a key attraction for any prospective Addicks owner, though it believes the newly promoted side, which returned to the Championship after five years in League One, is currently worth between £20m and £35m when all assets and their realistic values are assessed.
Watford are, of course, the team in the group with the most recent Premier League experience, though the Hornets are now in their first season without parachute payments.
Surprisingly, AI believes that the team currently led by Javi Gracia might be sold for a whopping £150 million to £200 million, making it one of, if not the most notable takeover(s) in Championship history.
The current estimated market prices for QPR, Charlton Athletic, and Watford FC
It’s fair to say that some of AI’s aforementioned assertions are significantly more realistic than others, especially given each of the three teams’ current ESTIMATED market prices, according to Transfermarkt.
According to the website, Rangers have the 18th-highest market value in the Championship, which is around £42.04 million, whereas Watford is four places higher, with a valuation claim of £50.74 million.
Unsurprisingly, Charlton is currently the division’s second-lowest club in terms of market value, trailing only cash-strapped Sheffield Wednesday.
The Valley side is presently valued at about £22.13 million, making AI’s prior assertion far more credible if Textor takes majority ownership of the club.
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