Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed the lawsuit drama between Farhad Moshiri and Alisher Usmanov has “nothing to do” with the Merseysiders.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the “fire has been put out” with the legal action concluding 12 months ago.
As per The Athletic (10 September), former Everton sponsor Usmanov has taken legal action against a company owned by Moshiri.
The owner of USM had provided sponsorship to Everton worth £12million each year but that funding stopped after sanctions placed on Russia in 2022.
A spokesperson for Moshiri declined to formally comment but said the court action was complete and also indicated he would not be liable to pay damages due to UK laws and regulations.
Moshiri has been attempting to sell Everton for two years, with US billionaire John Textor currently in negotiations over a takeover after 777 Partners and The Friedkin Group failed to seal a deal.
Moshiri and Usmanov lawsuit drama is ‘nothing to do with Everton’, says Wyness
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I did some research on this and it appears the court case was completed about 12 months ago.
“It was about a company called USM, who sponsored the training ground, and a share Moshiri held in that company.
“It’s nothing to do with Everton. Normally there’s no smoke without fire, but in this case, I think the fire has been put out.
“Nothing new has come up about this, so I don’t think I’ll pursue it much further.
“I think we can move on from this one and go back to the real battle, which is the ownership situation.”
