Friedkin Group Weighs Everton Investment and Controlling Stake Sale

Everton’s owners, The Friedkin Group, have confirmed they are considering fresh investment and the possible sale of a controlling stake, less than two years after completing their December 2024 takeover.

The group said it would keep funding the club while assessing interest, but stressed that any deal would depend on finding owners capable of carrying Everton forward and maintaining the progress already made. The statement makes clear that a change at the top is again possible at the Merseyside club.

Alisher Usmanov is understood to be watching the situation and is seeking a route back into Everton’s finances. Alan Brazil said he had heard that the Russian-Uzbek billionaire wanted to return and invest heavily, while underlining that he could not verify the information.

Usmanov was closely linked to Everton during Farhad Moshiri’s ownership. The pair previously held a combined 14.58 per cent shareholding in Arsenal before their focus moved to Goodison Park. In 2017, Usmanov’s USM Holdings agreed an £11 million naming-rights arrangement for Everton’s Finch Farm training base, and the company later backed the women’s side as well.

With an estimated fortune of $14 billion, Usmanov would have the financial capacity to make a major impact if he were permitted to do so. But his position is complicated by UK Government sanctions imposed in March 2022, which remain in force.

Those restrictions leave an immediate return to Everton effectively out of reach under current law. The Friedkin Group will therefore continue to support the club as it searches for an investor or buyer it considers the right long-term steward.