Monday evening, the European Union froze the assets of Alisher Usmanov, influential investor of Everton, because of his “particularly close ties” with Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, as explained The Telegraph. It is targeted in particular for having “actively supported, materially or financially, the Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine”. It remains to be seen whether the Toffees will be impacted by this sanction.
The Russian oligarch, former shareholder of Arsenal (he sold his shares, 30%, in 2018 to Stan Kroenke), never formalized his investment in the Mersey club. This close friend of the owner of Everton, Farhad Moshiri, sponsors the training center to the tune of €6 million, while MegaFon, a company in which he is the majority shareholder, sponsors the women of the Toffees. Alisher Usmanov is banned from making funds available but also from traveling to the European Union, like 26 other Kremlin relatives.
