Roma could emerge as the principal European football project for the Friedkin family if Everton’s ownership structure changes before the end of the season. The American group has opened the door to selling its controlling stake in the Premier League club, a move that would bring a clearer focus to the Giallorossi after several years of multi-club ownership.
The Friedkin Group has appointed investment bank Moelis & Company to examine options for Everton, including a sale of control. It intends to consider only offers judged suitable for the club’s future and hopes to complete the process by the conclusion of the current campaign.
Everton was acquired in 2024 for €654 million, with further expenditure committed to the completion of the club’s new stadium. The group believes it has helped establish financial stability and a platform for future progress, and now sees the moment as right to consider the next stage of the club’s development.
Roma at the centre of the European plan
For Roma, the potential departure from Everton would carry significance beyond the balance sheet. It would remove a major part of the family’s football commitments outside Italy and make the hierarchy of its sporting investments more straightforward: Roma would remain the central European club in the Friedkin portfolio.
The Friedkins took control of Roma in August 2020 and have invested more than €1 billion in the club, supporting its financial requirements while pursuing sporting progress. Their only other football holding would be Cannes, who play in France’s third tier.
A sale of Everton could also ease the issues that can arise around multi-club ownership in UEFA competitions. More importantly for Roma, it would allow the ownership to direct more attention, resources and long-term planning towards Trigoria.
Gian Piero Gasperini has recently spoken of trying to bring the owners closer to the club. With no Premier League commitment, Ryan Friedkin in particular could spend more time around Roma’s training ground and day-to-day operation.
Pietralata remains the long-term cornerstone
The proposed Pietralata stadium is central to the scale of the Friedkins’ commitment. The project is valued at about €1.4 billion and is intended not merely as a new home for supporters, but as an asset capable of improving Roma’s economic sustainability and strengthening the club’s position in Italy and Europe over time.
In that sense, an Everton sale would not necessarily signal a retreat from football investment. Rather, it would reshape the group’s priorities around a club in which financial commitment has increasingly been matched by a broader attachment to the city and its sporting ambitions.
The family is also exploring expansion outside football, including plans for an NHL hockey franchise in Houston in an operation estimated at around $3.5 billion, or €3.1 billion. Yet Roma’s outlook remains one of continued backing: more than €1 billion already committed, a major stadium project still to be built, and a European project that would become still more clearly their own.
