Burnley, Leeds and Leicester have confirmed their intention to sue Everton for a total of £300million after the club were found guilty of breaching financial fair play rules.
Mail Sport has learned that senior figures at the three clubs held talks this afternoon to reaffirm their plans to sue after the Premier League confirmed Everton’s guilty verdict and 10-point deduction, the biggest in the competition’s history.
The aggrieved trio are understood to have agreed to follow through on their previous threats to sue Everton, which they formulated over the summer after Sean Dyche’s side narrowly escaped relegation on the final day of the campaign by just two points.
Leeds and Leicester were relegated to the Championship and Burnley have leant their support as they remain convinced that Everton’s spending breached financial rules the previous season when they were relegated.
Everton are set to face a £300million lawsuit from rival teams after their 10-point deduction for breaching Premier League spending rules, something they club are strongly appealing
The three clubs have repeatedly expressed unhappiness that the Everton case was not dealt with last season and are understood to feel even more strongly following the guilty verdict, as a points deduction in the previous campaign would have relegated them.
Dyche’s side can still survive this season as despite losing 10 points they are only two points from safety with over two-thirds of the season remaining.
Mail Sport revealed last month that Burnley, Leeds and Leicester had written a joint letter to the Premier League notifying them of their plans to sue if Everton were found guilty.
The £300m figure is based on a rough estimate of the £100m each club believes they lost by being relegated to the Championship.
The prospect of facing joint legal action from three other clubs is another significant blow for Everton, and could derail the planned takeover from American investment firm 777 Partners.
The punishment brightens the spotlight on both Manchester City and Chelsea and a former advisor to City tweeted that the precedent set by Everton’s penalty could later result in relegation for both Premier League heavyweights.
