Confirmation on Friday that TFG, headed by the billionaire Dan Friedkin, is now exploring the potential sale of Everton is not surprising, although the timing of the announcement blindsided executives and manager David Moyes. An asking price of about £800million, inclusive of debts of about £400million, has been mooted. The clarity regarding TFG’s position suggests confidence that a sale can be completed although whether it will happen this season is unclear. The Independent Football Regulator can take up to 90 days to ratify a deal once a buy-out is in place.
There is no doubt that TFG has helped Everton. The club’s financial problems under the former owner, Farhad Moshiri, meant the threat of administration loomed. There has been stability, debts have been refinanced and the move to the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium was completed in August 2025. This is not going to be the fire sale of a distressed asset.
TFG’s outlay since buying Everton has been about £450million and, given the club’s debt level, selling now would allow them to potentially break even. The longer they stay owners, the more money they could lose. However, throughout TFG’s tenure, which has not yet reached its two-year anniversary, doubts have always existed regarding its true desire to oversee Everton’s transformation.
Manager Moyes told _The Times_ he was disappointed for supporters that more uncertainty loomed, but there would be frustration of a different kind with owners who are reluctant to put their hands in their pocket.
Ultimately, a number of factors have forced TFG’s stance, not least the price of running a football club in the Premier League. It seems preposterous that someone as successful as Friedkin did not recognise there would need to be a financial commitment to Everton each season, or that the squad TFG inherited required an overhaul.
Admittedly, having to pay Burnley almost £40 million in June after they successfully sued Everton relating to profit and sustainability rule breaches was not part of the plan. TFG had seven days to pay and did so despite the club lodging an appeal.
However, no club has a net spend of zero season after season and makes progress, yet somehow this seems to have come as a shock to the Everton owner. It is estimated that a five-year capital requirement of about £450m is needed (interest payments on the stadium are £40m a year, for example), which represents a large chunk of change.
_Roma comes first_
A further complicating factor in TFG’s vision was revealed by _The Times_ last month and concerned Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules, which prevent teams owned by the same group from playing in the same European competition. This creates an issue for Everton and Roma.
Owning two clubs of virtually the same size — Everton were ranked 24th and Roma 27th in Deloitte’s Money League for 2026 — always had the potential to create a conflict of interest. TFG briefed that it had a “structural solution” to Uefa’s rules without ever expanding on what that was, but recently conceded that was not the case.
It means that if Everton and Roma both qualified for the Champions League, only one would be able to take part as things stand, and TFG’s bonds with Roma are stronger. Work on a new stadium for the Italian club is due to start next year at a cost of €1bn (about £850m).
Another consideration is whether the uncertainty surrounding Manchester City will deter prospective investors. It probably does mean that any investor will come from the US and will be cautious about the price. However, so far the appetite for Premier League franchises seems undiminished. That may change as the Manchester saga progresses, so now is a good time to go to the market.