Elon Musk’s name has been mentioned since The Friedkin Group put Everton up for sale.
There is nothing credible yet to suggest Musk has made an approach or even wants to buy Everton (thankfully). But former Blues defender Michael Ball has suggested he should, and the idea has since travelled quickly across social media.
You can understand some of the excitement. Everton have spent years worrying about money and Musk has more of it than just about anyone on the planet. If the reported £800m valuation is anywhere near the mark, affordability is hardly going to be his problem.
I still wouldn’t want him owning Everton.
Everton needs the right owner, not just the richest
David Moyes has already said he wants the next owners to understand Everton, its supporters and its culture. He also made the revealing comment that there may not have been enough opportunity to explain to the Friedkins “what we are or who we are”.
Everton need investment. Nobody is pretending otherwise. Supporters have watched financial problems restrict the club for years and naturally want an owner capable of putting Everton back where they believe the club belongs. There has to be more to it than money, though.
Musk spent more than $250m supporting Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign and later took a role in Trump’s administration. He has also used X to involve himself heavily in political debates in America, Britain and elsewhere.
Plenty of Evertonians will see politics differently to me. That’s football. Put tens of thousands of people inside a stadium, and they aren’t all going to agree on much beyond wanting their team to win. My problem is with the idea that we should ignore everything about a potential owner simply because he/they are spectacularly rich.
What does Everton want from its next owner?
Everton in the Community is not some PR scheme attached to the football club. Its work across Merseyside is part of Everton’s identity and has been for years. And that matters when we’re talking about ownership.
Musk has spent enormous sums backing political causes and candidates I disagree with. He owns one of the world’s biggest social media platforms and regularly uses that position to push his views into political arguments. He is entitled to do that. I’m entitled to look at it and decide that I don’t want him owning this football club.
Just imagine, if you wanted to, all the good you could do in the world with that kind of untold wealth.
The Friedkins say they want the right steward to take Everton forward. There are already questions over why TFG are prepared to consider selling less than two years after taking control, so whoever eventually replaces them deserves proper scrutiny.
Evertonians should be interested in more than their finances, their plans for the team and what they want to do with Hill Dickinson Stadium. Who are these people and what do they stand for?
After everything Everton have been through with owners in recent years, that doesn’t feel like too much to ask.
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