The Friedkin Group made a deal that saved Everton’s summer, and it should pave the path for the club’s future.
It’s an exciting project under the Friedkins, who have made a strong start to their nine-month tenure.
David Moyes asked for nine signings from this transfer window, and the owners delivered, already showing positive signs.
Previously, Sean Dyche had the belief from the Friedkins, but as it’s known, this wasn’t to be the case.
But it’s clear that the Everton hierarchy are thinking differently about Moyes’ reign, and a big decision they made helped plan out the summer.
Everton owner Dan Friedkin.
Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images
The Friedkin Group’s sale of Everton women was the biggest sale of the summer
Some great signings supported the backing of Moyes this window.
Jack Grealish was the main one, alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling, but it was actually a sale that helped the Toffees’ spending.
Everton.News’ Financial Expert, Adam Williams, has explained how the club’s PSR situation looks, as the sale of the women’s team played a vital role in keeping it steady.
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“Everton lost £53m in 2023-24, which on face value eats quite heavily into their £105m PSR allowance over three years,” Williams said.
“But the good news is that the £83m they lost in 2022-23 is now no longer part of their calculation. And after allowable costs like investment in the academy and infrastructure, their £53m loss is probably going to be somewhere around £30-35m. That’s a rough estimate, but even with some margin for error, it gives them quite a bit of headroom,” he added.
“They sold well in 2024-25 and I suspect will have further trimmed the wage bill that season, which will have helped their PSR calculation. But that said, the fact that they sold the women’s team to themselves just before their year-end accounting date certainly suggests that they were close to the £105m upper limit. It’s hard to read that situation any other way, given the timing.
“Obviously, things change this season now that the stadium is open for business. Matchday income is going to more than double. I would predict that commercial income is going to get somewhere close to £60m with all the new founder partners and the naming rights deal for the Hill Dickinson. So you’re adding probably £50m to your top line almost overnight.
“Then, you have the sale of the women’s team, which was probably worth £50m. They have also reorganised the debt, which smooths out the annual impact of the costs of rebuilding the stadium. Those interest payments are being expensed, so they will still impact the bottom line and PSR by extension, but it’s a more favourable picture than it was this time last year. It will be interesting to see exactly how much they are paying each year and how much that offsets the positive impact of the new stadium.
“Against that, you have probably £25m in extra amortisation costs because of the £100m they’ve spent on new signings, plus 75 per cent of Grealish’s wages. I think The Friedkin Group have essentially been as ambitious as they possibly could have been – and the women’s team sale has played a huge part in that. The owners have had FFP issues at Roma, so hopefully they have learned from them.”
The plan was for Everton women’s sale to provide additional funding, and it has achieved this, judging by the money spent this window.
It looks as though the Blues’ finances are in safe hands under the Friedkins, but Roma fans will know all too well that this could change, and as Adam mentions, hopefully they’ve learnt from their mistakes.
The Friedkin Group will hope to avoid Roma mistake at Everton
So far, it’s been so good for the owners, and the women’s sale was a smart PSR play to help fuel the preparations for this season.
After a busy summer, it looks like their hard work is already being put into action nicely after Everton’s start to the season.
But there still might be some concern about what the ownership could slip up with, as the Friedkins could spend money without a plan.
This is what they’ve previously done during their time at Roma, and although the first window was a success, it will be interesting to see if they stick to the same structure over time or resort to throwing their plans out of the window again.