It was that kind of mid-May afternoon when no one saw history unfolding. Crystal Palace—mid‑table, underdogs, the South London faithful bracing for another quiet season—found themselves at Wembley, ball at their feet against Manchester City. Then, Eberechi Eze’s sweet volley flew in, Dean Henderson pulled off a penalty save, and the stadium erupted. In a heartbeat, Palace had their first-ever major trophy. Historic goosebumps.

Cue confetti and disbelief—Crystal Palace, the club that hadn’t touched silverware in over 120 years, were suddenly Europa League bound. But as fans basked in glory, a shadow lurked behind the scenes: one of their shareholders, John Textor, also holds a stake in Lyon. And voilà—a UEFA rule about dual ownership in the same competition reared its head, threatening Palace’s European dream.

Palace scrambled to build a defense. They argued Textor’s stake is minority‑only, without operational control, and begged UEFA to see the oversight as a formality, not a veto. Appeals were made, deadlines cited, blind trusts discussed—but the March cutoff came and went. Now the club is under serious pressure to sort out ownership before Europe’s next season kicks off. And so, with UEFA watching, Palace is looking for a new owner.

Enter Woody Johnson—the New York Jets owner, and a long-time Chelsea supporter. Johnson is in talks over a $272 million investment in Crystal Palace, as per the reports. Yep, you read that right. Loud and clear. If the reports are accurate, Textor, whose Eagle Football Group also includes Belgian club Daring Brussels and Brazilian team Botafogo, will sell his 43% stake in Palace.

And yes, Johnson is the leading contender. And get this, if the Jets owner manages to get a deal done, it will clear a path for Crystal Palace—the FA Cup winners—to participate in the next season’s UEFA Europa League. Safe to say that owning one team might not be enough for Woody Johnson. Because it’s not the first time that the Jets owner is trying his luck in the English Premier League.

After all, Woody Johnson has been a Chelsea Supporter

Woody Johnson’s desire to try his luck in Crystal Palace just makes sense. After all, the Jets’ Owner has served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2021 under President Donald Trump‘s administration. Sure, he’s no longer serving under Trump’s administration. But it’s safe to say that Johnson is expected to end up in England once again.

To spice things up, during his tenure as the ambassador in the U.K., Johnson cited his affinity for the Chelsea Football Club as he became familiar with British culture and football. The Jets owner believed that there was a good connection between owning Chelsea in London and the Jets at his home. The result?

He made a failed bid (around $2.6 billion) to buy Chelsea after the previous owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 following the political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. But let’s be real—when the news broke that Woody Johnson was interested in buying Chelsea FC, let’s just say, the Chelsea fans weren’t thrilled with this announcement, and they definitely weren’t on board with his decision either. Why?

It’s because of the Jets’ history. Back in 2000, 31 years after the Jets won their first Super Bowl, Woody Johnson bought the Jets for $635 million. “We want to emphasize that we are totally dedicated to bringing a winning and a championship team to this area.” That’s what the team stated after Johnson took over the reins. That was 25 years ago.

And the Jets are yet to appear in a second Super Bowl. Let’s not talk about winning one. To spice things up, they haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2010. Enduring a 14-season postseason drought. Safe to say that Chelsea fans weren’t thrilled after the announcement. But at the end of the day, Johnson’s bid to buy Chelsea was rejected.

Fast forward to now, and he’s out there trying his luck again. Will he be able to buy the Crystal Palace? The odds are in favor of him. But we’ll see.