Ex-Everton star makes Elon Musk plea to buy the club

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FT Desk

A former Everton star has sent a plea to Elon Musk to buy the Premier League side.

The Friedkin Group completed its takeover of Everton in December of 2024, bringing Farhad Moshiri’s ownership to an end. The US-based investment group, led by businessman Dan Friedkin, acquired Everton through its subsidiary Roundhouse Capital Holdings.

After the poor relationship Moshiri had with the Everton supporters, the takeover was meant to represent a new era, especially since the club was on the cusp of their move to the brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

However, it was more of the same, really, with botched transfer windows leaving manager David Moyes light with players to work with.

The 2026 summer transfer window was a disaster as they sold Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City and Beto to Fiorentina without buying a replacement, with a deal for Monaco's Folarin Balogun collapsing at the last minute.

TFG also attempted to sell one of Everton's prized assets, midfielder Harrison Armstrong, to Nottingham Forest for £40m. Due to the negative reaction to the reports of that deal, and even threats of a protest or riot, TFG pulled out the deal.

Moyes was left with 18 senior players to work with until January and he would later reveal that he had never once spoken to Friedkin in his second spell at the club.

Come on @elonmusk get involved and take on your rival once again @JeffBezos ⚽️

— Michael Ball (@bally03) October 9, 2026

On Friday, TFG confirmed a plan to explore the market for buyers.

"When TFG became custodians of Everton, the club faced significant financial uncertainty and challenges both on and off the pitch," an Everton statement said on Friday.

"The immediate priority was to provide the stability, investment and support needed to secure the club's future, including helping to bring the long-promised stadium to completion for its deserving supporters.

"With that foundation now safely in place, the time is right to consider the next chapter for Everton. We will only entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the club forward and build on the momentum that has been established.

"Throughout this process, TFG's focus will remain unchanged. We will support the club in all ways necessary to achieve success on the pitch and will continue efforts to make a positive difference in the communities the club serves."

TFG paid more than £400m for a 99.5% share of Everton two years ago and BBC Sport reports that they are looking to sell for between £750m and £800m for a complete sale, taking on current debts of around £468m.

Michael Ball, who played for Everton between 1996 and 2001, has reached out to Musk on X to entice him to buy the club so that he can "rival" Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, who recently made a significant investment in Liverpool.

The Liverpool deal, announced on 14 August, involved 1892 Holdings, led by businessman Amit Bhatia. Bezos was reported to be involved through K5 Sports, one of the funds participating in the consortium. The proposed investment was reported to cover around 30% of Liverpool, with the transaction valued at approximately £1.65 billion.