Keith Wyness suggests the negotiation sum that would have settled Everton and Burnley dispute
That is according to former Toffees chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the issue should have been settled behind closed doors.
The Merseysiders have been ordered to pay the Clarets a compensation fee of around £35million for PSR breaches that took place during the 2021-22 campaign.
Burnley were relegated that season, and have been able to argue that the six-point deduction that Everton received for 2022-23 should have been enforced in the previous year.
David Moyes' side have been hit hard as a result of that verdict, and Wyness believes that the whole situation has set a dangerous precedent for the Premier League in the coming years.
Everton have already launched an appeal against the final verdict, but Wyness believes that the issues are already clear moving forward.
Everton dispute to take 'more money out of football'
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the dispute between Everton and Burnley has opened a "gigantic can of worms" moving forward.
The Scottish businessman is strongly against footballing matters being settled with legal action, and feels that this incident could have dangerous ramifications long-term.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness made it clear that the lawyers will be the big winners from the case.
"This opens up such a gigantic can of worms about clubs suing each other, and that's the most dangerous thing of all," he said.
"As I said before, this should have been settled behind the scenes. There should have been arbitration between Burnley and Everton. It should have been argued behind closed doors.
"I thought it would have been settled for between £5m and £10m, then we could have all moved on. A precedent would not have been set about clubs suing each other.
"Lawyers are licking their chops right now, and that's the worst thing. More money will be going out of football."
Do Everton have a chance of winning their appeal?
Wyness told Football Insider earlier this week that Everton may be able to knock £10m off their payment to Burnley if their appeal is successful.
He made it clear that his former club have a stronger chance appealing against the quantum of their punishment, rather than trying to remove it altogether.
He also outlined that while the Toffees have "top lawyers" on their side in Slaughter and May, the chances of them winning their appealing are currently stacked against them at "30-70."
Wyness emphasised that the battle looks likely to get away from Everton at the moment, despite their best efforts to reduce their punishment.