David Moyes on Everton Owner Dan Friedkin: No Contact Since January
David Moyes has revealed he has never met or spoken to Everton owner Dan Friedkin since returning to the club in January 2025 – despite the American having been in charge for almost a year.
Friedkin, head of The Friedkin Group, runs Everton from Houston and has not attended a home game since completing his takeover in December 2024. His distance from the club has become a lightning rod for criticism after a turbulent summer in which fans openly raged at the board’s decisions.
A distant owner, a thin squad
Speaking before Everton’s game against Manchester United on Sunday, Moyes was asked directly whether he had met or even spoken to Friedkin at any point during his 20 months back in charge.
“No,” came the answer.
The day-to-day running of the club is left to Friedkin’s son-in-law, Rishi Majithia, who works alongside chief executive Angus Kinnear. For Moyes, the chain of command is clear.
“My real contact is Angus,” he said. “Angus is the one who I would go to see. Rishi is the next one and then the head of the Friedkin family in America.
“I don't really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to.”
That distance has been thrown into sharp focus by a chaotic end to the transfer window that has left Everton exposed. They closed the window with just 18 senior players, including only one recognised striker, one right-back and one left-back.
The pressure finally erupted at Bournemouth last weekend. News broke during the game that Everton had accepted a £40m offer from Nottingham Forest for Harrison Armstrong, their highly rated England Under-19s midfielder. The away end turned furious.
The club eventually backed away from the sale, but the damage to trust lingered. Supporters saw it as another example of a board gambling with the club’s future.
Then came deadline day. Beto was sold to Fiorentina on the Tuesday, before Everton had secured a replacement. USA forward Folarin Balogun appeared set to arrive from Monaco, only to pull out of the move late on, leaving Moyes with a single senior centre-forward.
Moyes backs the fans, but stays in the fight
Moyes had already publicly aligned himself with supporters over the proposed Armstrong sale, stressing the club was “managed by an Evertonian” and adding that “supporters aren't always wrong”. The comments landed strongly with a fanbase that feels ignored higher up the ladder.
On Friday, he admitted the club’s internal structure still needs serious work.
“We've got new owners in who are still feeling their way in the club,” he said. “I think if we get to know each other more it will get better.”
Yet he made it equally clear he has no intention of walking away from the mess. This is the club he led to regular top-five finishes between 2002 and 2013. For him, Everton is not just another job.
“Everton's different,” he said, when asked if he had thought about quitting. “I wouldn't have come back for anybody but Everton.
“I think the club here has had enough days where the people find a way of recovering. People saw the face of Evertonians last week and it can be really powerful. I would expect them to be really powerful now.
“But powerful for the team, powerful for the players. What we're going to need from them is extra because we're short, so we need them. If they're not with us, then it's terrible. And they are with us, I believe they are with us.”
The owner may be thousands of miles away in Houston. The squad may be stripped back to the bare bones. For now, Moyes is betting that the force of Everton’s support can bridge a gap that the boardroom has left wide open.
