Gary Lineker thinks that despite entering advanced talks, 777 Partners’ acquisition of Everton may have come too late to benefit them this season.
The Miami-based investment company is in advanced negotiations to acquire 100% of the Toffees, and an announcement is expected this week. If successful, Farhad Moshiri would depart the club after coming under growing fan scrutiny in recent months.
But former Everton striker Lineker stated on the The Rest Is Football podcast (13 September) that while a change of ownership is necessary, he worries that it might be “too late” to help them this season.
“I think it’s probably needed at Everton isn’t it, but it’s possibly a little late to help too much this season,” he added.
“I had a fantastic year with the club. You always have a connection to your clubs, and I genuinely love Everton and had a fantastic year there. The supporters and everything else are so important to them and their football team.
“Obviously, they have a brand-new stadium that looks incredible coming.”
“We’re crossing our fingers that it’s the right acquisition for the club at the right time, and it just propels them back to being a team that Everton should be, which is a team challenging for European football, not for trying to stay in the Premier League,” said the author.
Fears
Many Everton supporters have also brought up Lineker’s concerns in the wake of the announcement that 777 Partners appear poised to acquire the team.
They own a number of teams around the globe, but none of them are currently particularly successful on or off the field. Recently, supporters of Standard Liege even demonstrated against their ownership.
We must let go of Moshiri as owner because he is obviously out of his depth in this situation. However, we cannot afford to bring in new investors who are only concerned with increasing their personal wealth.
That is what it appears that 777 Partners are doing at other clubs, and it won’t be helpful for us at this time. To get out of our current predicament, we need to be restored to health and provided a foundation upon which to grow and advance.
Excellent to see a prominent profile
