When Farhad Moshiri strode into Goodison Park in 2016, he did so with one key ambition – to transform Everton’s fortunes.
Announced as the Toffees’ new investor at 4.46pm on Saturday, February 27, the British-Iranian billionaire walked into a club that had gone 21 years without silverware and sat 12th in the Premier League table. For a club more used to qualifying for Europe, even finishing in the top four under David Moyes, that was a disappointment.
Moshiri wasted little time in attempting to reawaken the perennial sleeping giants. Pledging to give “everything I have” to re-establish the nine-time English champions back among the elite, he told fans, “We don’t want to be a museum. We need to be competitive and win.”
Over the course of the next seven-and-a-half years, Moshiri did transform Everton’s fortunes, but not in the way he envisaged. In each of the past two seasons, a 12th-placed finish would have been blessed relief.
Instead, the Toffees became relegation candidates, jeopardising a top-flight status that will soon extend to 70 years. All that, while facing Financial Fair Play charges and the substantial costs of a new stadium, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher labelling them “the worst-run club in the country”. Last month, Moshiri confirmed he’d finally agreed to sell Everton, but fan worries remain, amid concern about the club’s potential new owners. How did things go so wrong?
A GAME FOR BILLIONAIRES
Moshiri’s premiership in the blue half of Merseyside developed at a breakneck speed in early 2016. Just 24 hours before buying Everton, he sold his 15 per cent stake in Arsenal to long-term business partner Alisher Usmanov, as the pair’s battle with Stan Kroenke for control of
