That year, Singapore financier Jerry Lim bought Crystal Palace Football Club, who had been hours from extinction, from the administrators, and immediately sold it on to Jordan.
Having been born "100 yards from the ground"[2] Jordan had been a lifelong fan, and he noted "I have been prepared to put my money into something I truly believe in, and my first job is to turn the fortunes of this club around."
[3] This occurred following a Football Association tribunal's decision on the John Bostock transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, after which Jordan stated "It's a panel of halfwits".
Rumours persisted of personal financial difficulties as Jordan faced cash flow problems relating to wage payments at the club in November and December 2009.
Jordan gained a reputation as a hirer-and-firer of managers early in his Crystal Palace ownership, though this changed as his reign progressed.
On 11 October at a press conference he unveiled Neil Warnock as the new manager, which failed to surprise many as the two were reported to be good friends.
[10] In October 2006 Jordan claimed to have purchased the freehold to Selhurst Park from Ron Noades for £12 million, using an investment mechanism that kept his identity secret.
But, backed by other journalists and by media advisor Max Clifford,[17] Jordan indicated his intention to appeal, stating "I didn't start this fight, but it's not something I'm going to walk away from.
Any legal action I take won't be about wasting time or resources on a petty point of principle – it'd be an attempt to see the whole thing unravel."
The same panel decided no disciplinary action would be taken against Paul Jewell, manager of Wigan, who had been charged on the basis of making comments similar to Jordan's.
"[19] Whilst awaiting the outcome of the appeal, it appeared as though the events were having an effect upon him, as on 26 February 2006 it was reported by The News of the World newspaper that Jordan was tired of being chairman, and wanted to go back to being a regular fan.
He has since reported in his 5 March 2006 Observer column, that he was misquoted and that he had simply restated what he had said eight months before, that "I don't plan to stay at Crystal Palace or in football all my life.
I'd like to return to the stands 'as quickly as possible', but I won't sell until I've secured a sound legacy – Premiership football and a new ground"[20] Jordan stopped writing for The Observer in the 2006–07 season.
He started writing again with his own column entitled "Simon Jordan’s Big opinion" in The Sun from August 2019 to November 2020.
In 2006 Jordan part funded and executively produced Sweeney Todd, a film featuring Ray Winstone and Tom Hardy.
It was reported by the Daily Mirror's website in January 2006 that Jordan had bought girlfriend Meg Mathews (the former wife of Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher) a Porsche worth £100,000 for Christmas, along with a personalised number plate, and that the couple had been together since July 2005.
On 8 August 2023, Jordan told Talksport that he was recovering from prostate cancer, and urged men as young as late thirties to get the PSA blood test.