Alisher Usmanov is selling his stake in Arsenal – and that has led to suggestions about Everton.
Arsenal have a new manager heading into the new season in Unai Emery, and now appear to have changes at boardroom level as well.
The Gunners take on Manchester City this weekend to kick off their campaign, and fans have been given some big news heading into the new season.
As reported by Bloomberg, Stan Kroenke has now agreed to purchase Alisher Usmanov’s 30% stake in the club for £1.8billion, giving the American control of the club as Usmanov backs away.
The Uzbek-born Russian billionaire has been involved with Arsenal since 2007 and has been a key shareholder for more than 10 years, but is now moving on – but he may not be moving far.
The Telegraph note that the expectation is that Usmanov will become an investor or part-owner of Everton, which would see him reunite with business partner Farhad Moshiri.
Moshiri left Arsenal himself in order to become the majority shareholder of Everton in 2016, and Usmanov has long been linked with Everton as a result, with BBC’s Paradise Papers report suggesting that Usmanov’s money is in Everton.
Now, Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to predict that Usmanov will indeed begin investing in Everton, and backed him to pump money into the Toffees and take them ahead of Arsenal, seemingly feeling that Kroenke isn’t the man to take the club forward.
Everton supporters have also reacted to the news, believing that Usmanov – worth $12.8million (£10million) according to Forbes – is finally heading to Goodison Park to reunite with Moshiri, with fans excited about the potential move.
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