'Based on the belief...' - The Esk shares why Everton backed Man City despite possible PSR blow

Everton backed Manchester City in their case against the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction [APT] rules in the hope of benefiting themselves in future, says The Esk.

The Toffees blogger responded to a fan via X on 8 October after the panel’s ruling emerged a day earlier with bad news for Everton thanks to shareholder loans from Farhad Moshiri.

The club top the Premier League table for interest-free loans from their owner which may now need to have commercial interest rates applied to them [Martyn Ziegler, 7 October].

But in answer to why the Toffees were a witness for the reigning Champions despite the potential negative consequences for themselves The Esk said the hope that under new ownership they could benefit from commercial agreements to associated companies was the reason, particularly now The Friedkin Group have agreed to buy out Moshiri.

He wrote: “Everton favoured the City argument because we hope to benefit from associated party transactions when the Friedkin takeover is completed”.

He added that City were backed before the TFG takeover deal: “Yes but based on the belief we will be future beneficiaries”.

Farhad Moshiri to take major hit on Everton sale to Dan Friedkin

As long as there is no retroactive punishment for the Moshiri loans it may prove to be a moot point for Everton, since he is likely to be on the way out within a matter of months.

He is already expected to make a huge loss on his sale to Dan Friedkin [Sky Sports, 23 September] so from an accounting perspective it should be possible for that loss to be recorded in a way which doesn’t put the club in a deeper hole as soon as the new owners come in.

It looks typical of the Moshiri reign that Everton acted as a witness in a case where the elements of the ruling that their side won threaten to negatively affect them.

And given the Friedkin takeover hadn’t yet been agreed when the club took sides it could have backfired to worsen a financial situation which was uncertain before Friedkin returned to provide a major safety net [Liverpool Echo, 1 October].

It is little more than a fortnight since the Roma chief swooped back in to conclude a rapid takeover agreement which was announced on 23 September.

If Everton were still hanging on John Textor getting rid of his shares at Crystal Palace to push forward with his own deal on Merseyside then the potential PSR ramifications of the latest ruling might have constituted a significant threat, since commercial interest rates on around £450m of Moshiri loans would have been plenty.

But with Friedkin expected to agree some sort of deal with Toyota, through which he makes most of his money, once a takeover is completed [The Athletic, 23 September] the club’s decision to back City may prove to be the correct bet for now.

In other Everton news, a Sky Sports pundit admits he is “absolutely in shock” at what he has seen happen at Goodison.

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