Farhad Moshiri’s £197m Everton payments put club at risk of Chelsea-style Roman Abramovich mess
Everton are one step away from being engulfed in the same turmoil as Chelsea after the release of their most recent accounts today (29 March).
The club were at pains to highlight the impact of Covid-19 in the statement they released earlier which detailed a £120.9million loss for the year ending June 2021.
The same statement said that, despite the third consecutive year with losses totalling over £100million, the club were “in a secure financial position thanks to the continued unwavering support and commitment of Farhad Moshiri”.
According to The Times, the £120.9million loss comes on top of the £139.9million the previous year, and £111.8million in 2019.
The Everton statement details substantial financial backing from the owner over recent months, saying: “A Share issue was completed during 2020/21 that involved the introduction of £100m of new funds from the Club’s owner, with a further injection of £97m confirmed after the year’s end.”
Okay… for now
Fans may be reassured that the huge numbers being lost by the club are happily being covered by Moshiri.
That position is one that Chelsea fans have adopted for most of the past two decades, safe in the knowledge that Roman Abramovich could simply pour more of his money in whenever required.
That suddenly became an impossibility earlier this month, when he was sanctioned by the British government over his ties to Vladimir Putin.
With their billionaire owner no longer allowed to bankroll the club, Chelsea’s future now almost entirely hinges on the sale of the club being completed quickly or face going into administration thanks to their reliance on the Russian.
The Toffees themselves were already rocked by the need to hastily cut ties with main sponsor Alisher Usmanov due to his own links to the Russian president after the invasion of Ukraine.
And while the club’s Iranian-British owner is not facing any sanctions himself, despite close business links to Usmanov in many areas including in relation to luxury properties that the government wanted to freeze (BBC), it shows how quickly things can change.
Everton, like Chelsea, are already largely beholden to the 66-year-old’s personal willingness to continue injecting funds.
That in itself could change, and the Abramovich situation has shown that even while he is happy to continue, an outside force can negate it in an instant.
Covid cannot be overlooked and nor can the major investment in the Bramley-Moore dock stadium development, but the current situation’s sustainability is not on firm ground.
The club are firmly in a position where anything that changes Moshiri’s position would make the potential peril that relegation currently threatens far more immediate.
In other Everton news, the club desperately need to stay up with a slice of an “extraordinary” £10.4billion pie on offer if they do.
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