777 given tour of new Everton stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock as takeover update emerges
777 Partners, the prospective new owners of Everton, were given a tour of the club’s new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium on Sunday, according to the Athletic reporter Matt Slater.
It was back in September that the Miami-based firm agreed to acquire the 94.1 per cent share of Farhad Moshiri’s stake in the Merseyside club but the takeover has been beset with controversy.
Indeed, the deal has yet to receive ratification from the Premier League and its chief executive Richard Masters said on Tuesday that a decision could be heard before the end of January (The Telegraph, 17 January).
Slater posted on X Wednesday to write about how Isaac Hayden claimed he wasn’t paid on time by Standard Liege – another 777-owned club – during his loan spell from Newcastle United, labelling it a “disaster”.
However, Slater added: “Meanwhile, 777 was given a tour of Everton’s new stadium today, so we can’t say “there’s nothing to see here”.”
There has been no shortage of controversies surrounding this takeover, not least the warnings of difficulties after other clubs falling under the 777 umbrella, which has left fans understandably concerned.
What is just as concerning is the reported £142million 777 has loaned to the club since September, according to the Athletic, so if the deal did not go through how would that money be paid back and would Everton have the funds to run the club day to day without them?
The most pressing thing now is to get a resolution one way or another because this state of flux is damaging and could prevent other interested parties from coming forward if it does not receive the green light.
All the club’s supporters want is to be able to focus on issues on the pitch, not takeover nonsense and not controversies involving Profit and Sustainability rules, these farces have been going on for too long and it needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
