Friedkin sells Everton after just two years

The American Friedkin family, sports magnates through The Friedkin Group (TFG), has put the English club Everton – Liverpool’s second team, which plays in the Premier League – up for sale. The news has come as a bolt from the blue: the Americans had taken over the club less than two years ago following the financial crisis faced by the previous owner, the Anglo-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri.

At the time, American investors – well-known in Italia as the owners of AS Roma – had purchased the 49.9 per cent stake held by the billionaire, based on a valuation of 420 million pounds for the entire club. Now, according to market estimates, Everton’s value is believed to exceed 700 million pounds. On Friday evening, the parent company TFG, based in Houston, Texas, confirmed in a statement that it was seeking new investment for the club, but was also willing to relinquish control should a suitable buyer be found. No specific timetable has been set for the transaction; however, TFG is confident that it will quickly attract a buyer and be able to finalise the deal during the current season. The investment bank Moelis & Company will manage the potential sale.

The huge increase in Everton’s valuation – which, over two years marked by a lack of sporting success, has seen the club’s value almost double – has a clear and simple explanation: in August last year, the club opened its new stadium Hill Dickinson (named after the sponsor), built on one of the quays in the Port of Liverpool, in a very picturesque location. Like all new-generation stadiums, Everton’s – which, for a time years ago, had Carlo Ancelotti as manager – has commercial spaces designed to capitalise on fan support: shops, restaurants and pubs. And the property is owned by the club, which has sent the value of the football club soaring. And the Friedkins immediately cashed in.

The 60-year-old Dan Friedkin clearly prefers the climate and weather in Rome to that of Merseyside, the bay of Liverpool, which is where Everton’s new stadium is situated. At the Stadio Olimpico, the owner has been spotted on numerous occasions watching AS Roma matches. At Everton’s ground, however, the billionaire has never turned up, nor is he known to have ever even met the manager, David Moyes. 

The brief stint in the Premier League and the lightning-fast sale also raise questions about the future of AS Roma. The Friedkins have been in the capital for many years now: they took over the club from James Pallotta in 2020, for almost 600 million euros. From the outset, one of the reasons for the investment was the project for a new AS Roma stadium, which is due to be built in Pietralata and will finally allow the club to have its own stadium to exploit commercially. But the property project has been dragging on for 12 years: under Pallotta’s management, the idea was to build a stadium in Tor di Valle, but this was subsequently rejected by the new owners.