Everton sponsorship deals raising eyebrows along with Manchester City since Saudi Newcastle takeover
The relationships between Everton and their sponsors are attracting scrutiny following the Saudi-lead takeover of Newcastle, reports The Athletic.
The proliferation of Premier League sides receiving millions in sponsorship from companies which are owned or part-owned by the same entities as the clubs themselves has been brought into the spotlight recently, since the controversial decision to allow the Saudi Public Investment Fund to buy the Magpies.
The rest of the league were spooked at the prospect of a new power being able to pour vast sums into the club, despite Manchester City having long-benefited from the same system, along with the Toffees, Leicester City and Crystal Palace.
The Athletic detail the £12million training ground sponsorship from USM Services, whose parent company is chaired and has shares held in by owner Farhad Moshiri as one that drew some attention.
The outlet reports that “rival clubs became more suspicious” at the £30million 2020 deal with the same company for first refusal on naming rights to the upcoming new stadium, and “raised eyebrows” with the women’s teams deal with MegaFon which the club’s owner also holds a stake in.
Hypocritical argument
While none of the deals in question contravene any of the rules it is obviously a murky area.
The lack of transparency in so many business dealings make it possible to obfuscate the truth of the situation.
And while it may be technically legal it does raise questions over the spirit of fairness when money can appear to be moving from one side of a business empire to the other in the form of a genuine sponsorship deal.
Having said that, the concept of monetary fairness arguably went out of the window a long time ago.
And it seems somewhat hypocritical for the issue to suddenly be making waves among decision makers now that Newcastle look like they might be about to trump the traditional big spenders.
For what it is worth, The Athletic reports that the Toffees are included among the clubs who have voted in favour of the new ‘related-party’ rules that are supposed to police these situations, while Manchester City have not.
That suggests that for all the deals have got rivals’ attention, Moshiri is confident that his dealings are all in order.
The reigning Premier League champions seem to want to have their cake and eat it though, which is harder to accept.
In other Everton news, Dele Alli has reacted to an online video that pokes fun at the controversy since his arrival.