Everton have saved millions in legal case vs Leeds, they have one man to thank
Everton saved millions of pounds in their recent legal case against Leeds United and one man in particular deserves a lot of credit.
Leeds were one of five clubs to apply for compensation after the Toffees were charged with profit and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches for 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Daniel Farke’s side, along with Burnley, Leicester City, Southampton and Nottingham Forest, all believed that their Premier League finishing positions, and subsequent prize money, were negatively impacted by the Merseyside club’s illegal spending.
On 23 September, it was revealed that Leeds and Everton had reached an out-of-court settlement earlier this year.
Angus Kinnear saved Everton £2m
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson has claimed that Everton may have saved up to £2m as a result of the out-of-court settlement with Leeds.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that his old side’s current CEO Angus Kinnear, who completed a move from Yorkshire to Merseyside early this year, would have been crucial in the resolution of this case.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Everton only had to pay around £1m in the end, which is a relatively small settlement
Wyness added that he was pleased this case was resolved out of court, which resulted in much lower legal fees.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “You’ve got to believe that Angus Kinnear going from Leeds into Everton would have been crucial in getting this resolved in a sensible way.
“I’m pleased to see that it was resolved out of court, which stopped the bleeding of the lawyers’ fees. I don’t think the final settlement would have been much more than about £1m.
“So in terms of things, it’s insignificant to a degree, although £1m is obviously still £1m. In terms of the Premier League revenues, it’s a relatively small settlement and takes away the risk for Everton, and it also gives Leeds the benefit of not having to go to court.
“I think it was good to see, and I’ve been preaching for this for weeks now, about trying to do things out of court if possible. Common sense takes control at last. Hopefully, a good positive sign.”
Everton face in-court battle against Burnley
Meanwhile, Burnley are suing Everton for £50m after the case began earlier this month at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London.
The Clarets are claiming they missed out on extra revenue following their relegation from the Premier League in 2021-22, one of the seasons where Everton were found to have breached the PSR rules.
Unlike with Leeds, the Toffees failed to reach a settlement with Burnley, which meant the case has gone all the way to court.
Borson previously told Football Insider that Burnley have a real case against Everton due to a “loss of chance” following their relegation from the top flight.
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