Dan Friedkin will be 'alarmed' as £900m decision taken out of Everton's hands - Kieran Maguire
Today at 03:38 PM
Billionaire film producer and AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin is poised to take over Everton, with the Premier League and Financial Conduct Authority currently completing their final checks.
Friedkin is a credible buyer and is expected to breeze through the regulatory scrutiny and be installed as Farhad Moshiri‘s successor at Goodison Park in time for the new year.
Everton fans hope his arrival will herald the beginning of the end of a dark era on Merseyside that has seen the club grapple with Premier League spending rules and fears of administration.
However, the situation will take time and discipline to turn around, even with the major financial boost that is the move to the new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock now coming into sharper focus.
Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire offered his insight on the landscape that Friedkin is set to enter.
Dan Friedkin to sell AS Roma shares?
Since 2020, Friedkin has owned Serie A giants AS Roma.
The 59-year-old was held in high regard in high regard in the Italian capital until recently, with the decision to sack club legend Daniele De Rossi as manager leaving fans calling for him to step down.
Roma CEO Lina Souloukou has been forced out at the Stadio Olimpico despite the fact it looks as though she may be headed to Everton to take on a similar role.
Now, Italian media are reporting that Friedkin could sell 30 per cent of his Roma shares.
With Roma valued at around £500m, that would give Friedkin significant liquidity just in time for his arrival at Everton.
Maguire does not believe that the capital injection will be redirected to the Toffees, but he does suggest that Friedkin cashing out could be a signal of his priorities in his multi-club network.
“I think this is an independent issue from Everton because Friedkin has the resources.
“One banker once told me that when some people phone him up and ask for £1bn, they give them the £1bn without asking what it’s for. That’s because their credit rating is so good.
“Friedkin is pretty close to being in that group.
“Going forward, this might indicate that Friedkin has crunched the numbers and realised the potential upside at Everton is greater than at Roma.
“If both clubs end up in the same European competition and he has to make a call, he may think that Everton are the better option and therefore he should start divesting his shares now.
“It would also suggest that Everton would be the top dog in the multi-club model.
Friedkin’s reaction to football regulator news
Another factor that Friedkin has been monitoring closely is the imminent introduction of an independent regulator for English football.
The initiative, which is opposed by nearly every Premier League club but has the broad support of fans, aims to safeguard the interests of supporters and shore up financial stability within the game.
This week, a new version of the regulator was unveiled by the government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with enhanced power to implement a ‘New Deal’ for the EFL.
The last proposal put on the table was for the Premier League to contribute £900m to the rest of the pyramid, to which Everton as a league shareholder would have had to contribute.
That proposal was rejected, which is believed to have sparked the government to give the regulator powers to implement its own financial system.
“He might have been alarmed by Lisa Nandy’s [Secretary of State for DCMS] comments,” said Maguire, commenting on how Friedkin will have reacted to the news.
“I don’t see where the overwhelming evidence is that Premier League clubs have more debt because of parachute payments, as she said.
“But he wouldn’t have got this far otherwise and the changes that are being proposed are very much nuanced. It’s evolution rather than revolution.
“The concern for all Premier League clubs is the regulator taking a more hands-on approach to the distribution of money.”
Maguire shares what he is hearing about £900m finance deal
An industry insider, Maguire has had a hands-on role in the formation of the regulator, acting as an adviser and consultant for policy makers.
He explained what the mood music is about the independent regulator and how the process of agreeing the new deal for the EFL will transpire.
“My understanding is that is very much the backstop position,” he said.
“Under the previous rules, it looked as if the regulator was going to apply game theory, where you put in a sealed proposal and the EFL puts in a sealed proposal and the regulator chooses one.
“What that does it incentivises both parties not to take the mic and to tend towards the middle.
“But looking at the proposals now, it could be that the regulator would look at both bids and think they are both rubbish and impose a new deal. I don’t think the likes of Friedkin will be too happy with it.
“That is an interesting change. To a certain extent, it is a get out clause for both the Premier League and the EFL because they can both say it is nothing to do with them.”
