Everton FC barely avoided relegation from the Premier League, finishing the 2022-23 season just two points above safety. Now, brighter days could be ahead thanks to a jolt of American money.
New York-based MSP Sports Capital — which owns stakes in several other European clubs and majority control of the X Games — is closing in on a deal with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri to provide between $124 million and $187 million in loans that can be converted to equity, according to The Athletic.
The deal underlines the firm’s long-running interest in Everton and would aid Moshiri’s ongoing effort to finish a new stadium for the club. The project has been under construction since 2021, but costs have risen more than 50% to $945 million.
The proposed agreement would additionally give MSP Sports Capital a 25% stake in the club — potentially even more if additional funding is needed — and two seats on the club’s board. Everton was recently valued at $744 million, according to Forbes.
Led by Phoenix Suns vice-chair and minority owner Jahm Najafi and former MLB player agent and club owner Jeff Moorad, MSP Sports Capital boasts a long pedigree of sports industry success — but Everton may prove to be its biggest challenge, even with its loyal fanbase.
With no top-five finishes since 2014, the club has reportedly lost roughly $500 million over the last five years. Meanwhile, Moshiri is reportedly a “person of interest” for U.K. authorities due to his ties to sanctioned Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
