Moshiri says he leaves Everton ‘in a better place’

Farhad Moshiri says the end of his Everton ownership has left him with “mixed emotions” and that he wonders where the club might have been had Carlo Ancelotti remained at Goodison Park.

The British-Iranian businessman’s tenure in charge of the Toffees came to an end on Thursday after he sold his stake in the club to the Friedkin Group in a deal believed to be worth in excess of £400m.

The takeover has prompted Everton fan groups to look forward with “hope and optimism” after a particularly chaotic period under Mosihiri.

The club were beset by a difficult relationship with fans, managerial upheaval, relegation battles, boardroom collapse, Premier League points deductions, and a financial crisis that pushed Everton to the brink.

In an open letter to supporters Moshiri acknowledged a sense of “sorrow when reflecting on the past” after a “challenging” time on Merseyside but said he leaves the club “in a materially better place” than the one he inherited.

“I fully understand that in football that results on the pitch are paramount and over those same years they frankly haven’t been good enough,” Moshiri wrote.

“We brought top-class managers like Carlo Ancelotti to the club and who knows where we might have been had he not been lured back to his first love Real Madrid.”

Moshiri said in the letter that leaving Everton with an “iconic stadium” for “all Evertonians, and the wider community, to enjoy for decades and decades to come” was something he would “feel real pride in”.

“When I purchased the club eight years ago, I knew it needed to be modernised, both with a new stadium and also at the training ground, which has seen much investment,” he added.

“I have met the huge costs of those improvements through my ownership, with season ticket prices remaining pretty well the same across my ownership period.

“I have tried to minimise the impact on fans with our tickets among the most affordable in the Premier League.”

A statement from the Everton Fan Advisory Board (Fab) said that apart from the development of the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, the time under Moshiri was a trying one.

“Our recent history has been clouded by relegation battles, financial uncertainty, failed ownership bids, a leadership vacuum and unjust sporting sanctions,” Fab said.

“Today’s announcement provides the opportunity for Evertonians to once again look forward with hope and optimism.”

Fab said it was “encouraged by the aims and ambitions” set out by the Friedkin Group following their takeover.

“Providing clarity and communicating about the road ahead will be essential. We recognise that change will not come overnight,” Fab added.

“We look forward to hearing more about their plans in the coming weeks and months and working alongside them to help achieve their aims of embracing the passion, creativity and values of Evertonians.”