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GFX Nasser Al-Khelaifi John TextorGetty/GOAL

'He liked my cowboy hat!' - John Textor buries the hatchet with Nasser Al-Khelaifi as Botafogo & Lyon owner denies he 'beat' PSG president with shock Club World Cup win

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  • Textor dismisses any bad blood
  • Jokes about "cowboy" tag pinned on him by PSG owner
  • Claims match result doesn't reflect reality
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Botafogo owner Textor had a rift with Al-Khelaifi in February regarding the Ligue 1 streaming rights deal. However, the two appear to have resolved their issues after Textor joked about the PSG owner's leaked remark, tagging him as a 'cowboy'.

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    The Qatari owner called Textor a 'cowboy' as Al-Khelaifi argued that the American didn't understand the dynamics of the business. However, with Textor's joke about the matter, everything seems to be okay between the two football executives. Textor's Botafogo pulled off a shock win against PSG on Thursday, earning a 1-0 win in their second Club World Cup game.

  • WHAT TEXTOR SAID

    Textor sought to cool the reports of tension between the two after the game, going on to sing Al-Khelaifi's praises. He said: "Nasser did some very important things. The unity we have is not fake. There is a crisis in French football and it is important to be together. He is a man with a great knowledge of the game, in France and around it. He has a good sense of humour, he liked my cowboy hat. I told him: 'In real life, I never wear a cowboy hat'. Now we are together for the good of French football and we need it to be like this."

    The Eagle football company owner further said: "I didn't play against Nasser tonight. I was sitting on a chair, I wasn't on the pitch. Nasser was sitting on a chair next to me and he wasn't on the pitch. Our Botafogo team beat that team, but I didn't beat Nasser, and Nasser wasn't trying to beat me."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR TEXTOR?

    With multi-club ownership also come multiple problems. Textor might be elated with Botafogo's win over PSG, but bigger issues need to be solved at another one of his teams, Crystal Palace, in which his Eagle Football company holds a 43 per cent stake. The club is due to play in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup. However, with Textor owning a majority stake in Lyon, and the French club also playing in the Europa League, UEFA rules do not allow the same ownership to have influence over two teams in the competition. Earlier, Drogheda United from Ireland was expelled from the Conference League because of a similar ownership issue.