To be fair, the backlash after the announcement - and it has been quite nasty - has been mainly driven by the London press. The simple fact is, for The Friedkin Group (TFG), particularly lead man Dan Friedkin, the numbers didn't add up. And for those close to Friedkin, without stating things in plain-speak, we were told "Dan just isn't feeling it" when it came to TFG's investment in Everton.
Of course, your average Everton fan wouldn't need any such provenance to confirm such suspicion. Friedkin has never been spotted at an Everton game. Not at the old Goodison Park, nor at Hill Dickinson Stadium. This despite the 61 year-old Texan being a regular visitor to the UK to indulge his love of golf.
In terms of Everton, his heart was just never in it. You could even argue the original purchase of Farhad Moshiri's majority shareholding two years ago was more about convenience than any great drive or passion to buy the Toffees. After initially pulling out of a deal with Moshiri, TFG eventually were convinced to step back in after the crazy collapse of the 777 group and John Textor's on-off interest. Did Friedkin and TFG do the club a favour at the time? It can be argued in the positive, though many fans would push back on such an opinion considering the perceived lack of squad investment - something we'll get to later.
"I'd like to think they'd both be treated as equals", was former Everton winger Pat Nevin's response a good 12 months ago when Football Presse asked him about the danger of the Blues becoming a feeder club to AS Roma, TFG's other football investment. Nevin was confident, even adamant, that both clubs could live "equally" side by side in TFG's portfolio. But as we say, for the Americans, when it came to Everton, the numbers just didn't add up.
Indeed, in the two years of TFG controlling Everton, they've committed between £600m and £700m. Around £400m for the initial buyout of Moshiri and to cover outstanding debts, plus £150m to £200m in refinancing loans and around £100m for the final spit and polish of the new stadium. Effectively, TFG have wiped Everton's debts, established the new stadium and kept the squad competitive.
In contrast, over the six years they've been running Roma, TFG have poured similar capital into the Giallorossi. Buying the club, restructuring and paying off debts, plus investment in exploring a move away from the Olimpico has cost around £800m since 2020. And when we get to transfer spending, you soon realise that TFG, for all the billions behind it, just isn't built to compete in today's Premier League.
For over the past two years at Everton, TFG have overseen a spend of £600m to £700m. In comparison, at Roma, they have spent around £800m over the six years. For those not so good with numbers, that's an average of £130m to £150m a year with the Giallorossi, in contrast to around £300m to £400m per year for the two years TFG have been managing Everton. Also over those six years, while Everton have struggled in the bottom half of the Premier League table, under TFG, Roma have won the Europa Conference League, reached a second European final and been a regular in the Champions League. Being able to achieve this with a much smaller annual market spend compared to what is required in the Premier League clearly had a sway in Friedkin's thoughts about his long-term involvement in Everton. As we were told, "he just isn't feeling it".
So there it is in black and white. We can talk about Friedkin not only bringing Jose Mourinho and Romelu Lukaku to Roma, but the qualified pilot actually personally jetting them into the capital as a celebration. We can discuss his regular visits to Trigoria to mix with the players and coaching staff. And we can do so while highlighting the frustration of Evertonians over Friedkin's lack of interest in his Merseyside investment. But for TFG, Roma is the easier, cheaper gig.
Donyell Malen, a cast-off from Aston Villa, 15m quid to Lyon for Manu Kone and 20m quid to Juventus for Matias Soule. Roma haven't had to spend at Premier League prices to stay in and around the top four. It's been clever work from Tiago Pinto, now of Bournemouth, and Florent Ghisolfi, sure. But both sporting directors have been working in a completely different market to what is required in England. TFG's money can stretch much, much further in Serie A. Is it any wonder that Friedkin is enjoying himself as owner of Roma?
Which is why last week's announcement shouldn't elicit any type of bitterness or resentment from the Everton support. TFG have done their job. Everton have seen their debts effectively cleared. Their new home is the envy of the world. They have a favourite son back in the dugout. And a potential Scouse world-beater to build a midfield around - thanks to the personal intervention of Friedkin after hearing of the potential sale of Hayden Hackney to Nottingham Forest. At a price tag of £800m to £1bn, if TFG find Everton the right successor and walk away with a profit of £100-200m, how could any Toffees fan begrudge that?
Dan Friedkin's heart may never have been in the Everton project, but the Texan and TFG were the right owners for this time in the club's history. That they're choosing to put up their hands and walk away now is credit to them. This really needn't be a bitter split.