David Moyes on Everton’s £35m Compensation Ruling and Summer Transfers

David Moyes insists Everton’s record compensation bill to Burnley will not derail their summer transfer plans – and says the club’s new owners went into the deal with their eyes open.

The Toffees have been ordered to pay around £35m to Burnley after an independent commission ruled the Clarets were entitled to damages over Everton’s breach of the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability Rules in the 2021/22 season. It is the largest compensation award of its kind in English football.

Burnley argued they would have avoided relegation had Everton’s points deduction been applied in the season to which the breaches related, rather than in 2023/24, when Sean Dyche’s side were docked eight points. The club from Turf Moor took their case to arbitration and won.

Everton have appealed and issued a strongly worded statement, saying they “believe the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact.”

Moyes: “Really disappointing” – but no transfer freeze

Speaking on talkSPORT, Moyes did not hide his frustration at the latest twist in Everton’s long-running PSR saga.

“I’m not up to the situation exactly how it is and obviously the club are challenging it at the moment as well, which is really important, but it’s really disappointing,” he said.

The former West Ham boss admitted the ruling could have wider implications across the divisions.

“I don’t know if this opens a huge can of worms with other events as well. Teams who have maybe not got promoted, for example, because the Premier League teams are having problems with PSR.

“I felt that we had paid our dues, if that’s right, and we had done it already, but for this to come back to us, it feels like an individual case.

“But I don’t know if it’s going to open up more things for other clubs to do something similar.”

The obvious concern for supporters is what a £35m hit – potentially rising towards £40m once legal costs are factored in – might do to a squad that still needs work. Moyes, though, says the message from above has been clear.

Asked directly whether the financial penalty would affect this summer’s recruitment, he replied: “They told me no.

“They told me that it wouldn’t have any effect on it and look I was aware of this probably four or five weeks ago when it was happening that this would be the case.

“So the answer to that is I really hope it has no effect on what we’re going to do in the summer.”

New owners knew the risk

Moyes also stressed that the Friedkin Group, who recently completed their takeover of the club, were not blindsided by the Burnley case.

“My understanding is that the Friedkins were aware of this when they were buying the club and there was a possibility this could happen,” he said.

That knowledge, and the assurances given to the manager, point to a strategy that plans around the legal fight rather than pauses for it. Everton still need to strengthen, and Moyes knows he cannot afford a stagnant window after a campaign that tailed off badly.

“We had a good season except the last month or so when we sort of blew up and we were in a really, really strong position,” he reflected.

For some supporters, that line jars. They look at the collapse in form and bristle at the idea of a “good season.” Moyes, though, is clearly determined to frame the year as a platform rather than a warning.

A warning shot to the Premier League

If the club’s hierarchy stick to their word, Everton will go into the market aiming to build on the better stretches of last season rather than retreat into damage limitation.

“So if it’s anything I hope it’s a message to the Premier League. It’s so difficult. If you don’t do well you can find yourself in trouble again. We don’t want to be back in those situations we were in the past,” Moyes said.

The legal wrangling will run on in the background. The commission’s decision has already lit a fuse under PSR enforcement and left clubs across the pyramid wondering what retrospective claims might yet surface.

Everton, though, have more immediate concerns. A manager under scrutiny, a fanbase split over the direction of travel, and a summer window that now carries even more weight.

If Moyes is right, the chequebook stays open. If he is wrong, the price of this ruling will be measured not just in millions, but in what Everton can no longer afford to be.