Moshiri vows he won't sell Everton despite takeover rumors

Farhad Moshiri

has said that

is not for sale, despite rumors that more than one group wants to take over the Premier League club.

Last season, Everton finished 16th in the Premier League, their worst finish since the 2003-2004 season, when they were 17th.

Rafael Benitez

was fired halfway through the season, and

Frank Lampard

took over as manager. With a 3-2 comeback win over

at Goodison Park, Lampard was able to keep Everton in league with a game to spare.

But Everton's reckless spending during the Moshiri era, which started in 2016 and saw six permanent managers fired before Lampard took over, put them on the edge of breaking the Premier League's rules about making money and staying in business.

So, a big sale was needed before the new season. Richarlison was sold to Tottenham at the end of June for reportedly £50 million, which could rise to £60 million with add-ons.

With a new stadium built on Liverpool's waterfront, there have been many rumors over the off-season that more than one group wants to buy Everton. A group of Americans led by Peter Kenyon, a former executive at Chelsea and

, was said to be close to making a deal. There were even rumors that the group was sure they would buy the club before Everton's pre-season tour of the United States began.

Now that tour is happening, and since no deal has been made, Moshiri says the club has never been for sale, though he hopes to find more investors.

In a statement on Everton's website, he said, "Recently, there has been a lot of talk about investment in our football club, even takeovers. However, I want to make it clear that there is no "for sale" sign outside Everton Football Club right now."

"It's smart to look into all possible investment opportunities, and I've been honest that I'm focused on finishing the financing for our great new stadium and strengthening the team, which could include a minority investment." That will keep going on. But I want to reassure you all that Everton Football Club is not for sale."

Richarlison has been sold, Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and Cenk Tosun have all left on free transfers, and Donny van de Beek and Anwar El Ghazi's loan deals have ended. So far, only James Tarkowski has joined Everton, and he did so for free after Burnley was relegated.

But Moshiri is sure that the team will get more players, even though Everton doesn't have a lot of money.

"My commitment to the club remains strong and focused, and [director of football] Kevin Thelwell and chairman Bill Kenwright are currently working hard to bring in new players to improve Frank Lampard's team," the statement said.

"There will be new signings, and I would ask fans to judge us at the end of the transfer window, not now, and to listen to official club channels for information."

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