Government scrutiny puts Moshiri off sale

EVERTON owner Farhad Moshiri has opted against selling the club amid concerns that a sale could attract Government scrutiny due to his links with sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

Moshiri is understood to have received several serious bids for Everton, which he values at £500million, but is not pursuing them, with American investment fund MSP Sports Capital likely to take a minority stake instead. Government sources have told Sportsmail they are monitoring a possible sale, after last month’s White Paper on the creation of an independent regulator, which would give them ‘back-stop powers’ to prevent takeovers. Usmanov was sanctioned by the Government on March 3 last year for being a ‘pro-Kremlin’ oligarch ‘with close ties to Vladimir Putin’. Those sanctions came a day after Everton severed commercial ties with Usmanov’s holdling company USM, at a cost of tens of millions of pounds. USM sponsored Everton’s training ground and had agreed a future namingrights deal for their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, while Moshiri was on the USM board until the Government sanctions. Usmanov had a close interest in the running of Everton until last year, with multiple sources claiming that he was present when Moshiri interviewed various managerial candidates. His nephew, Sarvar Ismailov, was also appointed to the Everton board in July 2021, but stepped down four months later. Usmanov has always denied exercising any control over or owning any shares in Everton.