Richard Keys has claimed that Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is “desperate” to sell the club as the billionaire prepares to discuss offers with four potential bidders.
The Mirror exclusively revealed on Monday that Moshiri and his backer Alisher Usmanov are considering cutting their losses at Goodison Park, after receiving approaches to sell their stake from four different parties.
And Keys, the former Sky Sports presenter now host of beIN Sports’ Premier League coverage, is adamant that the British-Iranian supremo is eager to cash in on his stake in the club. But he believes that a significant commitment to building the club’s new stadium, as well as a £500m offer to take control of the club, will be required to prise the Toffees away from his hands.
“Moshiri will want £500m + £500m guaranteed to finish the stadium - just as we said here the best part of a year ago. He’s been desperate to get rid,” Keys tweeted to his 249,000 followers on Monday.
Moshiri, who bought the Merseyside club in 2016, has now invested a figure close to £600m since his takeover. And it is understood that while he has indicated to the board that he is not inclined to sell, the ongoing sanctions placed against his business partner Usmanov from the UK and EU could force the pair to consider offers.
A consortium led by former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon, who has most recently set up a company which specialises in advising on football club purchases, has made the most progress so far after opening negotiations. He is now fronting a potential bid from a group of businessmen which includes American real estate tycoon Maciek Kaminski and John Thornton, a gold mining billionaire.
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It is understood there have already been several meetings between Kenyon’s consortium and Moshiri, with further talks slated over a potential deal. But the £1bn price for Everton could be a major stumbling block in reaching a deal with any of the four different bidders involved.
Moshiri’s stake in the club now stands at 94 per cent and he would need at least £600m to break even on his investment. But that is before the majority of funding for a new stadium at the Bramley-Moore Dock site has been provided, with the projected cost of the project already exceeding £500m. And that could make a sale difficult, given the unstable situation at the club.
The club have endured a disastrous six-year period under Moshiri’s reign, which saw them narrowly escape relegation last season by finishing 16th under current boss Frank Lampard. The club's fans held a protest against the board in January as their situation grew more desperate and Moshiri recently penned a letter to the fans apologising for "mistakes [that] have been made".
