ProspectiveFIFA has imposed a transfer restriction on one of the current teams owned by Everton’s owners, 777 Partners.
Vasco da Gama is currently owned by a US-based investment company, and the club has been penalized for missing deadlines for transfer payments.
Farhad Moshiri, the club’s current main stakeholder, has agreed to sell his 94.1% ownership to 777, Everton revealed earlier this month.
However, Vasco, one of the numerous clubs included under the 777 banner, was penalized after being alerted by three other clubs who claimed they had fallen behind on player payments.
In recent years, the partners have invested in numerous football clubs all around the world, including Genoa, Hertha Berlin, Standard Liege, and Vasco.
777 has developed a reputation for taking up financially troubled clubs and trying to right the ship.
Early in 2022, after the Brazilian team had struggled and been demoted from the top division, the firm purchased a 70% ownership in them.
However, Vasco secured re-election to the Brasileiro last year and are now narrowly above the relegation zone a few weeks after the season’s halfway mark.
However, the club has been given a transfer ban by football’s international governing body due to unpaid costs in agreements that saw the arrival of three new players at the beginning of the year.
Since joining from Lille and Nacional, respectively, goalkeeper Leo Jardim and right-back Puma Rodriguez have frequently played, but their transfers, along with that of Manuel Capasso from Atletico Tucuman, have put the club in financial problems.
Vasco is late on payments that should have gone to Nacional and Atletico Tucuman totaling £1.6 million and £1.2 million, respectively. The amount still owed on Jardim’s contract was not made public.
The club is currently unable to sign any new players until the outstanding payments are paid in full, but they are confident that everything will be resolved by the time the transfer market reopens at the end of the year.
Many of Vasco’s issues were brought on by debts that accumulated under its former owner before 777 took over, but now that these three deals are being handled by the company that is interested in purchasing Everton, Toffees supporters might feel a little uneasy.
High-ranking 777 members visited Merseyside this week and met with club representatives, manager Sean Dyche, and Mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram, among others.
The Premier League, the FA, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK Government must still approve any upcoming takeover.
