American businessman linked with Crystal Palace investment submits $6 billion takeover bid

Crystal Palace shareholders David Blitzer and Josh Harris have reportedly made an offer to take control of NFL team the Washington Commanders.

ESPN have reported a consortium containing the Eagles duo and basketball legend Magic Johnson have made a bid worth around $6 billion (£4.8 billion) offer for the Commanders, which is currently being considered by current owner Dan Snyder.

The deal, should it go through, would make the Commanders the most expensive sports team in the world, surpassing the $4.65 billion (£3.77 billion) that saw fellow NFL franchise the Denver Broncos sold to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton in August last year.

Blitzer and Harris initially invested in Palace in December 2015 when they made a £50m offer to chairman Steve Parrish.

A statement released by the duo at the time read:

“We couldn’t be more excited to be joining the Crystal Palace family. We were drawn to the club’s rich history, exciting brand of football, strong leadership and, above all, its passionate fans.

“We’ve had the great pleasure of getting to know Steve and have the utmost respect for him and his partners, Stephen, Jeremy and Martin. We look forward to supporting Steve in his role as the operating co-owner and leader of the club. Crystal Palace has a storied legacy, a bright future and we’re proud to become a part of it.”

The duo have also been linked with a move to invest in Premier League rivals Liverpool and Chelsea in recent months, with Blitzer confirming an interest in the latter prior to Todd Boehly’s successful takeover at Stamford Bridge in May last year.

Speaking at a Sportico Invest in Sports conference in New York in October, he said:

“At the end of the day I love Crystal Palace, and people who know me well will know I love Crystal Palace. But there are a handful of teams/brands out there on a global basis, and Chelsea is one of them.

“The opportunity to invest in that particular situation with a very small number of people, frankly, given it was a complicated situation, we were comfortable giving that our best shot.

“We would have had to divest our interest in Crystal Palace had that come through. If that had happened it would have been a really sad day in one sense, but again back to the investment part it would have been a really interesting investment in terms of what’s out there for Chelsea.

“Then I would have probably had to hide a little bit when I went to London.”