Everton’s takeover process, if you take 777 Partners’ attempts into account, has spanned nearly ten months now.
It has been a truly laughable process, botched in a way only the Toffees could, but at last there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
A whole host of suitors have formed ever since the Miami-based firm saw their exclusivity deal expire, and now it is a race for these various consortiums to convince Farhad Moshiri that they are the right fit to assume control of the club.
At last, we might just have our outcome.
When Everton’s takeover will be completed
Well, that’s according to one report from La Gazzetta dello Sport, who suggest that today might just be the day that we finally get some closure on this drawn-out process.
Time did have to be taken for Moshiri to select the right man, and in doing so, his decision now seems to have put off some of the other high-profile bidders who were sniffing around the deal.
One Saudi-backed consortium were frontrunners to buy Everton not too long ago.
The report reads: ‘Tomorrow should be the official day, at least to hear all the rumors coming directly from Liverpool. Within 24 hours Dan Friedkin will become the new owner of the Everton, buying the majority package currently in the hands of Iranian Farhad Moshiri.
‘So much so that even the other businessman engaged in the race to buy the Toffees, Vathce Manoukian, in the last few hours admitted the defeat of his group (within which there was also the fund that makes the Arab royal family).’
Who is Dan Friedkin?
Crucially, the American businessman is worth an estimated net worth of £6.1bn (£4.8bn). That alone should have Evertonians excited.
However, it is worth noting that Moshiri too was worth a hefty sum, and we all know how his tenure at Goodison Park worked out.
The difference between their current owner and the man seemingly set to take over, though, is experience.
Friedkin has been with AS Roma even since his takeover in 2020, and there he has already made some huge changes, none more great than luring Jose Mourinho back to Italy.
There, the legendary Portuguese coach won the Roman club their first European trophy in 61 years before being sacked just last season.
As the Houston Chronicle notes, ‘cars are the root of the Friedkin family’s business empire,’ and that remains the case today, ever since Dan took over from his dad’s enterprise, who founded Gulf States Toyota Distributors.
However, his passion extends outside of just cars, having co-formed 30WEST, a film-producing company, before assimilating others into that.
Clearly a man with an eye for a potential success, perhaps Everton could be his latest, as he closes in on adding them to his multi-club model.