Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has provided some details about Everton and finances around their managers following Rafael Benitez’s sacking.
The Spaniard was relieved of his duties over the weekend at Goodison Park. A poor run of results, as well as some ill-feeling between the supporters – some of which started even before he was appointed at the club – meant that the Toffees didn’t really have much of a choice when it came to getting rid of him.
Having been a model for stability for years under David Moyes, Everton have been going through managers rather quickly in recent years, which has resulted in a lot of compensation being paid out to former Toffees bosses when they’re bounced out of the club.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast, Maguire explained how Everton have had to handle their previous string of managers and what happens with regards to compensation, before touching on what is likely to happen to Benitez when all is said and done.
He said: “Since Farhad Moshiri acquired Everton Football Club, they’ve had six managers in six years. It wasn’t so bad with [Carlo] Ancelotti, because effectively, Real Madrid took him off their hands and I think they might have received some compensation. But I know some of the other settlements, they’ve had to be quite creative, in order to both pay off the manager and comply with Financial Fair Play.
“Judging by the nature of the statement – very terse – not even thanking Rafa Benitez for his efforts, that does seem de minimis, I would imagine his advisers will be looking for the full settlement because he signed a contract in good faith, as far as he was concerned.
“Now, it hasn’t worked out for a variety of reasons, but yes, we’ve spoken to agents and we’ve spoken to lawyers and they say under these circumstances, the manager is perfectly entitled to a full and fair settlement of his outstanding wages.”
TIF Thoughts on Kieran Maguire’s comments on Rafael Benitez…
Do you think that Benitez going to Everton was a good idea?
No, they won't appreciate him
Yes, he will do a good job
This isn’t the most promising news coming out regarding Everton and their finances. Everton can be fairly accused of having wasted a lot of money over the years when you consider how much they have spent and the fact they have nothing to show for it in relation to trophies, or even European football since the 2017/18 season.
Now, you can add another needless expense to the list when it comes to having to pay off Benitez’s wages for the remainder of his contract, which, when you consider it was a three-year deal, could be a pretty significant fee.
It does make you wonder when Everton are going to start being smarter with their money rather than simply wasting it like this. Because if they’re not careful, some of the financial issues that they’ve had in recent years might end up creeping up on them and forcing some drastic changes at the club.
In other news: ‘I think that they’re going to’ – Reporter drops ‘big’ worrying Everton claim