'Hard bargain' - the huge fee Everton believe they missed out on when selling Richarlison to Tottenham

Everton claimed that they had expected to receive a fee of £80 million for the sale of Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Toffees have been hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules. Everton were referred to an independent commission after they recorded losses of £371.8 million over the previous three years after submitting their accounts for 2021-22, with league rules allowing a maximum of £105 million.

The Premier League independent commission ruled that the Blues' profit and sustainability rules calculation came out at £124.5 million - almost £20 more than allowed.

In the report released by the Premier League of the five-day ruling, it is suggested that Everton had valued Richarlison, who they sold Tottenham Hotspur in July 2022, at £80 million. However, to help profit and sustainability rules, the Toffees argued that they had to take significant hit and sell the Brazil striker for £60 million on 30 June before the financial year reset.

The report said: "The 12 knowledge that Everton was facing PSR calculation challenges caused potential purchasers for their players to drive a hard bargain. Everton considered that the sale on 30 June 2022 of Mr Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur FC for the sum of £60 million, rather than the sum of £80 million that it had budgeted to receive, to be directly attributable to its PSR calculation difficulties."