Martinez hails "new era" under Moshiri
Everton manager Roberto Martinez says Farhad Moshiri's investment into the club, signals a "new era" at Goodison.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez says he's looking forward to a new era at Goodison - after the news that Farhad Moshiri now owns a majority stake in the club.
News broke on Saturday that the Iranian billionaire had purchased 49.9 percent of Everton - subject to Premier League approval.
It was something of a surprise announcement - with an American consortium having previously been heavily tipped to invest in the club.
Moshiri previously owned a stake in Arsenal football club, and sold that to fund his purchase of shares at Goodison.
Speaking to reporters this lunchtime, Martinez said:
"It's been really exciting. Our chairman is a true Evertonian and he's had the opportunity to meet, probably a few different options in terms of investment. I met the new investor, and I was so impressed - he has strong values as a human being, but "he's been following our club, and he's fallen in love with Everton.
What we have is someone who understands Everton and is ready to start a new era. From this point on, we're going to take all the good things and take it onto a different level, I feel. It's really exciting, a unique opportunity that is not a gamble, it is not just a financial move, this is a well thought out move by someone who can be a perfect custodian of our football club. He understands what the fans want, what we all want.
"It's someone who knows the Premier League, he knows the vision of a winning team. He's had the opportunity to find out about our football club, our pedigree, our history. For someone like Farhad to be involved in the football club is an incredible reward for all the hard work of our chairman over many, many years - a true Evertonian who has given his life to protect out football club. Now we can take his work onto the next level, and that's really exciting for every fan.
"He's a new Evertonian - someone who has fallen into our family, but he has the drive and vision which will allow every person connected to our football club to shine and be ready to fight for a very exciting future".
Moshiri's considerable wealth will inevitably trigger questions over how much Martinez will have to spend in future transfer windows. But the manager insists Moshiri's arrival is about much more than just money.
"I think it's not just that - as you can see now the Premier League with the new TV deal, you're going to have money. It's about creating a football club where players believe they can win things. I'd like to have a billion pounds to spend this summer...but it's about more than just that (!) It's about creating a club that he wants to develop, over the next 5, 10 15 years, it's about making Everton a winning team again."
Listen to Martinez's full interview here:
https://audioboom.com/boos/4242813-martinez-hails-new-era-under-moshiri