Roma’s owners, the Friedkin Group, have announced that they have entered into an agreement to buy a controlling stake in Premier League club Everton.
The Friedkin Group runs both Roma and Everton, but is said to be ready to choose the Giallorossi if UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership force them to choose between the clubs.
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The American family-run fund bought Roma in 2020, then Cannes in 2023, with Everton added to the portfolio in 2024.
They had been adamant that there was a “structural solution” to deal with UEFA’s new rules on multi-club ownership, which would mean that one of the two clubs would not have to be sold.
However, The Times reports that this is no longer feasible, after UEFA warned Dan Friedkin and the other board members last month that their approach would not work if both teams qualified for the same European tournament.
Friedkin Group prefers Roma to Everton
That was solved this season because Roma managed to qualify for the Champions League, while Everton missed out on UEFA competitions altogether after finishing 13th in the Premier League.
There is still an option where, instead of selling the club outright, they can place one of them in a blind trust – temporarily under the guidance of independent people.
The Times warns that since Roma is a more long-term investment dating back to 2020, it is Everton who are likely to get the blind trust treatment.
Dan Friedkin has never been to an Everton game at Goodison Park or the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, while his son Ryan only visited the new Everton structure once – in a pre-season match against Roma.
This could still be a problem, points out Calcio e Finanza: the Friedkin Group created Pursuit Sports just 18 months ago, a structure intended to share data and experience between the three clubs under this umbrella.
Everything points to the possibility of selling Everton, or at least parts of the Premier League club, and keeping the focus on Roma as the flagship of the Friedkin Group.
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