Farhad Moshiri told he has made ‘very odd’ move as John Textor tries to buy Everton

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Everton are now heading into the 2024/25 campaign with Farhad Moshiri still the owner on Merseyside.

The summer has seen potential investors come and go at Everton with Moshiri‘s plans to sell the club hitting the rocks.

Having undergone and exclusivity period with 777 Partners and then The Friedkin Group, Everton were looking set to go into the season with little hope in their ownership saga.

However, on Thursday afternoon there was a huge update with Everton offering John Textor exclusivity to try and push forward his bid.

But this is a move which may come across as slightly strange given the shares in which textor still holds in Crystal Palace.

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Farhad Moshiri may have made an odd play in John Textor’s Everton interest

Textor has now been handed exclusivity in his push to proceed in becoming the new owner at Goodison Park.

But unlike with 777 and The Friedkin Group, Everton have now made Textor’s exclusivity publicly known.

Perhaps it is to protect the club from further negative press when it comes to their takeover debacle with Moshiri potentially having done something rather odd.

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Speaking to Everton News, TBR Football’s financial expert Adam Williams has claimed Moshiri may have accepted a promise from Textor which has granted him exclusivity.

“The debt picture at Everton is complicated but not irreconcilable,” Williams said.

“Farhad Moshiri wants £50m for his equity in the club, but the sooner he realises his shares are not worth a penny, the better.

“The total debt – which is somewhere between £600m and £700m – outweighs the value of the equity.

“Maybe Textor has promised Moshiri something for his shares and that’s why he has given exclusivity. It seems like a very odd move given the complications with Crystal Palace otherwise.”

John Textor will have to overcome Everton’s loans

Unfortunately for Everton fans, this is not looking like it is going to be a straightforward process in getting Textor in as the new owner.

On top of his 45% shares in Crystal Palace, the American billionaire is going to have to navigate the loan Everton have taken on in recent months.

And it seems as if the complications surrounding the loan taken on from 777 is what proved a real issue for Dan Friedkin who recently pulled out of his exclusivity window.

“With regards to the debt, the £200m loan from 777 Partners – which now belongs to their lenders, A-Cap – is the sticking point at the moment.

“That loan has been named in a lawsuit by a group called Leadenhall, who allege that 777 Partners have used the same assets as security more than once,” Williams added.

“That is called double-pledging, It is illegal and considered fraudulent. The complications around that case are what caused Friedkin to buck.

“Friedkin knew about the 777 issue before he was named by Moshiri as preferred bidder, so his advisors have presumably seen something that they didn’t like when given more information.”