Some Premier League clubs are reportedly conducting a forensic investigation into Everton’s accounts, with suspicions that they have violated the top flight’s spending rules for the last two years.
Last month, Sportsmail revealed that Everton had reached an agreement with the Premier League to consult on signings and new contracts in order to avoid being found in violation of the regulations.
Many of their opponents were enraged by this revelation.
Everton postponed the release of their 2020-21 accounts last week, adding to the angst, with many clubs perplexed as to how they could have stayed within spending limits after announcing losses of £120 million. Their total losses over the last three years total £373 million.
Those claims have been met with scepticism from some rivals. Sources at several clubs have pointed out that Everton’s write-offs due to Covid are way above most of those in the Premier League, despite the fact their missing gate receipts are considerably smaller.
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Everton’s published accounts have done little to allay such concerns because they only provide details of £82m of the losses, split
That £82m of Covid-related losses is broken down as £22m in match-day revenue, £9m in broadcast rebates, a £17m drop in commercial income and a further £34m missing from other sources such as player transfers.
Everton’s rivals are not convinced by their calculations, however, and have taken matters into their own hands after failing to get the answers they were looking for in Premier League shareholders’ meetings.
The £373m losses at Everton over the last three years are the highest in the Premier League by far, with Chelsea and Arsenal the next in line with losses of £222m and £213m respectively, leading to incredulity that they can be explained away by the impact of the pandemic.
Everton are adamant they are complying with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and are confident that their 2020-21 accounts will be signed off by the top flight.
Potential sanctions if the club are charged with a breach include heavy fines and a points deduction.
In addition to their financial problems, Everton face a battle on the field to stay in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard’s side are just three points above the bottom three following Sunday’s defeat at West Ham, their fourth league loss in five matches, and relegation would be a financial calamity because the EFL’s application of their spending rules is far stricter.
