Everton owners Friedkin Group
Everton are suddenly within touching distance of the Champions League, and the timing could not be more awkward for AS Roma.
Calcio e Finanza report on Everton, Roma and the Friedkin family today and how the former’s potential success could become very awkward for the Serie A side.
After pouring more than €1 billion into the Giallorossi without ever reaching Europe’s top competition, the Friedkin family now find themselves on the verge of achieving that long-awaited goal. The problem is that it’s with Everton, where they’ve spent considerably less.
Everton three points from a dream
As the Premier League season heads into its final stretch, Everton sit eighth but only three points off fifth. That position now guarantees Champions League football thanks to England’s extra coefficient slot.
Liverpool currently occupy that position. That’s set up a potential explosive Merseyside derby later this month that could flip the race on its head.
David Moyes’ side also face Brentford this weekend, who sit seventh, level on points. Chelsea, who are sixth and two points ahead, were beaten 3-0 before the international break. The race is very much open.
Roma’s reality check
Roma, meanwhile, are sixth in Serie A and four points behind fourth-placed Como. They are higher than Everton, but the feeling is not positive.
Their form is collapsing at the worst possible time, with just four points from their last five matches leaving Gianpiero Gasperini’s side drifting away from the Champions League dream.
The Friedkins have chased that for Roma since 2020, ploughing over €1bn into the project on stadium plans, a complete structural overhaul and various other factors.
Yet Roma have never reached the Champions League under their ownership, even in seasons when fifth would have been enough.
The Billion Euro irony
The contrast is a brutal one. Roma have seen €1bn since 2020 but never gotten close. Everton have had €700m invested since December 2024 and are now as close as Roma have ever been.
If Everton get over the line, it would be impossible to ignore the irony. The Friedkins could achieve in Liverpool what they have failed to do in Rome and do it faster, cheaper and in a far more competitive league.
For fans in the Italian capital, it would be ‘at least mocking’, and a reminder of how far that they still have to go.
🇫🇷 Kévin Pedro: Everton and Bournemouth send scouts for defenderhttps://t.co/MFbL7yhqro #efc #afcb
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) April 8, 2026