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Everton claim Tottenham 'took advantage' of them over Richarlison deal to tune of £20m
One “interesting aside” in the fallout from the independent commission hearing against Everton is the club’s claim that Tottenham “took advantage” of them over Richarlison, according to Paul Brown.
The journalist took to Twitter on 17 November after the Toffees were hit with a 10-point deduction for a breach of profit and sustainability rules, to note the argument that they received £20million less than was budgeted to sell the Brazilian striker because Spurs used the fact “the club was in danger” against them.
Richarlison, 26, left for North London two summers ago in a £60m deal worth £50m up front [Sky Sports], as the sale was hurried through before the end of June 2022 in an attempt to help balance the books.
Brown wrote: “Interesting aside – Everton claimed in its submission to the commission that Tottenham took advantage of knowing the club was in danger of a breach to get Richarlison for £20m less than Everton believed he was worth, & budgeted to receive.”
Ignored
There were suggestions at the time the striker left that Daniel Levy was well aware of the financial pressures on opposite number Bill Kenwright in negotiations over the deal, and was using that to “push for a bargain” [Mirror].
But that was surely to be expected when it was common knowledge that Everton were parting with their star player, without whom they surely would have been relegated, in a hurry for that very reason.
Whatever the merits of the punishment, which is already widely seen as excessive and influenced by factors outside of the single Everton breach, it seems wishful thinking to get a pass on a £20m shortfall thanks to selling in a buyer’s market.
In many ways the financials at Goodison Park during the period in question appear to be a perfect storm of misfortune and mismanagement, with unique factors contributing to the mess including Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
To what extent the club and those in charge were directly responsible, or were careless and punished in unfortunate fashion when unforeseen events caused risks to come back to bite them, will be a matter of opinion for many.
The extent of the huge losses that were run up are widely known, but Everton had since worked closely with the Premier League to clear spending and cap further losses.
So for this charge to apparently be based on interest payments on the new stadium project [Sky Sports, 17 November] is no-doubt at the heart of the club’s shock at the ruling.
To then be punished so heavily, when transgressions at other clubs that have been met with a comparative slap on the wrist, will have made it all the worse.
In other Everton news, Stan Collymore claimed that it is now “popcorn time” with the club set to gain “a lot of sympathy”.