Everton could become within a few months the tenth Premier League club to go under the American flag after an agreement was announced on Friday between the current owner of the Liverpool team, Iranian-British businessman Farhad Moshiri , and the investment fund 777 partners.
“In light of my in-depth discussions with 777, I am convinced that they are the best party to enable our great club to move forward, taking advantage of their investment plan in multiple clubs “, said Mohsiri.
The agreement, which concerns the 94% stake held by the Iranian-British businessman, must still be approved by the country’s sporting and financial authorities. Both parties hope to complete the transaction by the end of 2023.
“The era of the sole owner and benefactor seems to be over, the biggest clubs are now owned by investment funds specializing in sport or by companies financed by States,” commented Farhad Moshiri.
“We are honored by this opportunity to become a member of the great Everton family (…) and consider it a privilege to build on this heritage and these proud values,” declared the founder and partner of 777 partners, Josh Wander.
This American investment fund domiciled in Miami (Florida) is already the owner – or minority shareholder – of several teams in Europe, including Sevilla FC (Liga), Genoa (Serie A), Herta Berlin (Bundesliga), Standard de Liège (1st Belgian division) or Red Star (3rd French division).
Since taking control of Everton in 2016, Farhad Moshiri has spent more than 500 million pounds on transfers (more than 580 million EUR), without much sporting success.
These last two seasons, the “Toffees” have even struggled to avoid relegation to the Premiership, and their start to the 2023-24 season is not much better since they have only one point in four games.
Everton, who recorded more than £400 million in losses between 2018 and 2022, are even under threat of sanctions, such as a points withdrawal, for breaching Premier League spending regulations.
The Iranian-British owner of the Liverpool club was also looking for investors to finance a new 53,000-seat stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, costing 550 million pounds (640 million EUR). and which must be delivered within a year.
