Former Manchester United chief Ed Woordward has been “approached” over a potential return to football to serve as a director of Eagles Footballs Holdings – the vehicle which owns stakes in Crystal Palace and Olympique Lyonnais, among other clubs.
Mark Kleinman (Sky Sports) reveals the 53-year-old executive is “being lined up as an independent director of Eagle Football Holdings as it prepares to list in the US.”
Sources close to Woodward said it was “not certain” he would be appointed but “confirmed that he had been approached about his first mainstream football directorship since ending his long stint at the former Premier League champions.”
A Reign of Incompetent Terror
Woodward spent 17 years at Old Trafford after playing a “key role” in the Glazer family’s hostile takeover in 2005, which saddled the Red Devils with inordinate levels of debt to complete the deal.
The American’s ownership, helped by Woodward’s efforts, has cost the club of “more than £1 billion” since this point.
The British banker effectively became the chief executive at Old Trafford in 2013 after long-term CEO David Gill’s retirement, which came at the same time as Sir Alex Ferguson leaving the club.
The decade which followed constitutes one of the worst periods in United’s history with exorbitant amounts of money wasted on recruitment and a carousel of managers, while the club’s infrastructure, including Old Trafford, fell into a state of disrepair.
Without question, Woodward was a front for the Glazers; a puppet who did his master’s bidding and was given the freedom of the world’s biggest club as a result, despite zero experience in professional football. He was a banker with a blank cheque book and no idea how to spend it effectively.
Which is why the idea of Woodward returning to football, in any capacity, should made United fans shudder, unless it was to become the chief executive at Liverpool.
Eagle Football Holdings
The Sky Sports report reveals, “Sky News has learnt that Mr Woodward, who left Old Trafford in 2022, a year after United’s involvement in the ill-fated European Super League project, is being lined up as an independent director of Eagle Football Holdings as it prepares to list in the US.”
“Eagle Football, which is controlled by the American businessman John Textor, is expected to file confidentially with US regulators for an initial public offering in the next fortnight.
“The vehicle owns a 45% stake in Crystal Palace, which it has been trying to sell for months but may now retain as a result of the club’s improved performance in English football’s top flight.”
Exclusive: Ed Woodward, the former Manchester United chief, is being lined up to join the board of Eagle Football Holdings – a shareholder in Crystal Palace, Brazilian champions Botafogo and Olympique Lyonnais – as it prepares to go public in New York. https://t.co/MBqmSfiGCJ
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) February 27, 2025
Tweet: “Exclusive: Ed Woodward, the former Manchester United chief, is being lined up to join the board of Eagle Football Holdings – a shareholder in Crystal Palace, Brazilian champions Botafogo and Olympique Lyonnais – as it prepares to go public in New York.”
It will be a dark day for any Palace, Botagofo, or Lyon supporter if a parasitic influence like Woodward gains a high-level position in their respective clubs. Just ask any Red Devil fan.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
