Everton caught in £50m behind-the-scenes battle costing more than Erling Haaland earns
Everton have been embroiled in a behind-the-scenes battle at Premier League HQ that has cost almost £50m to date.
The Premier League is desperate to prove that it can self-govern in order to avert the threat of a powerful independent regulator for English football.
It is now an inevitability that the regulator, which was making its way through Parliament until May’s general election announcement, will be introduced.
However, the intricacies of the regulator’s remit has not been finalised, hence the Premier League‘s drive to crack down on issues that might be within its scope.
That encompasses all manner of governance issues, but the two key issues at the heart of the trend have been Man City’s ‘115’ charges and top-flight’s compliance with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Everton have been hit with two separate points deductions for Profit and Sustainability breaches, and their turbulent takeover means they may not be out of the woods yet.
And the latest news proves just how serious the Premier League have taken the situation.
Premier League legal fees reach £30m last season alone as Everton PSR case settled
According to The Times, the Premier League spent £30m in legal fees last season.
For context, that’s more than Man City superstar Erling Haaland earned from his £375,000-a-week deal over the same period.
The 2023-24 campaign notoriously saw Everton deducted a total of eight points, reduced from 12 across two cases.
And it is believed that the Premier League spent £5m on the first case alone.
The Premier League’s spending doesn’t end there
Off The Pitch report that a well-placed source says that the league’s decision makers have spent over £100,000 per week per week for four years preparing for City’s ‘115’ charges case.
That equates to nearly £21m, taking the total legal costs north of £50m.
While City, who in turn currently suing the Premier League over its associated party transactions rules, have been the protagonist, the Toffees have been a close second.
