Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor may not have learned to speak Portuguese yet, but that doesn’t stop him from often giving interviews to the Brazilian media since his purchase of Botafogo.
The controversy this time was regarding midfielder Marlon Freitas, who had been booed by their fans last year and is now making a comeback to the starting team at the Rio de Janeiro side.
Quoted by O Globo, Textor came out in the player’s defence, claiming he should’ve never been treated like that, and since he was recently linked to a move to Vasco da Gama, the club owner made it clear that the 28-year-old was actually targeted by stronger markets.
“We all have the freedom to speak out, that’s a wonderful thing, but you can’t go into a cinema, set it on fire and expect people to enjoy the film. Marlon Freitas is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Brazil, he’s had international offers, but we want him to stay here. He’s in a good moment and growing. Let’s love our team again. He’s not going anywhere, so what are you doing?”
Textor is often hyping up Botafogo players, but since he took over the club, he could never really find a talent which could be of use for Crystal Palace, especially because he’s been more concerned about his other club, Lyon, lately.
In Marlon Freitas’ case, since he turns 29 at the end of the month, it sounds highly unlikely that a Premier League club would invest on his signing.
Crystal Palace would certainly benefit from having a direct transfer channel with a Brazilian club, especially with Botafogo doing well last year, but they shall keep waiting for Textor’s help with that.
