Everton ownership: Premier League club in £400m takeover talks with Saudi prince-led consortium

Everton have been handed a lifeline as their financial woes roll on - a business consortium, led by an unidentified member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, have submitted a formal offer of £400 million to buy the club from current owner Farhad Moshiri.

The consortium is though to include Vatche Manoukian, a London-based businessman and former finance lawyer who is currently a partner at tech investment firm IMS Digital Ventures.

Previously, Moshiri had tried to sell Everton to investment firm 777 Partners, who also loaned them considerable sums of money - however, due to various issues, the takeover could not be completed. Moshiri purchased a 49.9% stake in Everton back in February 2016 - in 2022, this stake was increased to 94%. He has become an unpopular figure at Goodison Park, with much of their recent plight being blamed on him.

As such, Everton fans will hope this potential takeover goes through seamlessly. Their dire financial straits are well-documented - according to a report from the Guardian, their total debt amounts to around £550 million.

Of course, any prospective buyers will need to clear this debt upon purchasing the club - meaning that the consortium will have to part ways with almost £1 billion upon their purchase of the Merseyside-based outfit.

Toffees fans have been growing restless recently, with their ownership saga seeming endless. Everton's fan advisory board sent an open letter to potential buyers of the club, in which they stated: “Now is the time for us to look forward and turn our attention to the parties who are in the process of bidding for our club.

"As one of the greatest sporting institutions in club football, we hope any new ownership will nurture, invest and most importantly acknowledge that their role as the steward of Everton FC is to run the club in partnership with its supporters in a way that recognises its heritage, sustainability, creativity and commercial potential."