Newcastle United owners the Saudi Public Investment Fund could pull off a huge business deal that changes everything for soon-to-be new Everton owner Dan Friedkin
In an effort to finalize the details of a potential £800 million acquisition, British-Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri and Friedkin have commenced private negotiations.
It is widely expected that the Premier League would approve Friedkin’s acquisition without any problems, unlike other buyout candidates like 777 Partners.
Everton would not be the first football team that a sports and media investor would own; in 2020, he paid £500 million to purchase Italian powerhouse Roma.
Currently, clubs that are owned by the same company are being deliberately barred by UEFA from participating in the same European championship.
Man City and Man United are allowed to compete in the same competitions as sister teams Girona and Nice, according to UEFA’s announcement last week. However, this is only possible if the subsidiary clubs are put in a blind trust.
In any event, it’s thought that UEFA will implement stronger long-term restrictions starting in 2025–2026, making this only a brief reprieve.Although Everton’s chances of qualifying for Europe are now slim, Friedkin’s alleged priority of Roma in a multi-club model would set a ceiling on the Toffees’ goals.
That problem, though, may be remedied in a single stroke. Now, PIF, the proprietors of Newcastle.
PIF in bid to buy Roma
As previously announced by publications like Forbes, PIF has offered Friedkin £768 million in exchange for Roma.
That bid was made before to Friedkin becoming a serious candidate to acquire Everton, so it was understandably unrelated to the Merseyside team or any possible problems with holding multiple clubs.
The offer, which is reportedly rumored to involve about £250 million in funding for a new Roma stadium planned by Bramley Moore Dock architect Dan Meis, has not been updated.
In addition to resolving any concerns over UEFA’s multi-club crackdown, accepting PIF’s offer would provide Friedkin a large profit that he may use to reinvest in Everton.
It’s impossible to predict with certainty if the 59-year-old would decide to do that, but it would be more prudent financially to settle the £390 million in debts owed by Everton than to keep paying interest on them.
The fact that a portion of the debt is backed by Everton’s real estate holdings may also allow Friedkin to devise a PSR workaround in the manner of Chelsea by selling assets to himself.
Will Everton be able to spend under Friedkin?
It looks that the Toffees will not have a PSR breach throughout the three-year monitoring term that ends in 2023–2024.
They are still, however, supported by a £115 million loss in 2022–2023 and an anticipated £60 million deficit in 2023–2024—details of which will be made public when the team makes public its season-ending financial statements.
According to the Profit and Sustainability Rules, Premier League clubs are permitted to lose £105 million over a rolling three-year period. This means that, on theory, Everton would have to report a £50 million profit in order to be in compliance.
That does not, however, account for depreciation and other deductible expenses like investing on infrastructure.
While Everton will probably still have to turn a profit on player sales in 2024–25 in order to comply, things are not as bad as they have been in the past.
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