In the summer of 2023, Romelu Lukaku touched town at Ciampino Airport and was greeted like a hero by fans of his new club, Roma.
Events of this nature are fairly common at the top levels of modern sport, but this was no run-of-the-mill arrival.
Sat in the cockpit was Roma owner Dan Friedkin, who had taken part in negotiations with Lukaku’s parent club, Chelsea, in London and then ferried the Belgium striker to Italy’s capital city to complete the move.
A qualified pilot and stuntman, Friedkin, 59, has a habit of making grand entrances. In 2017, he won an award for landing a spitfire on the beach in Christopher Nolan’s film Dunkirk.
The Texan’s latest feat came this week when The Friedkin Group (TFG) agreed a deal to buy Farhad Moshiri’s majority shareholding in Everton.
It was a move that blindsided just about everyone, including rival bidder and fellow American John Textor.
TFG had pulled out of exclusive talks with Moshiri in July, citing concerns over some of Everton’s debt, with Textor emerging as the new frontrunner. As recently as the end of last week, he was making confident noises about his own bid for the Merseyside club. TFG, while back in the frame, wondered whether Textor was more advanced and they would be beaten to the punch.
But in the space of a few frantic days last weekend, everything changed.
By late Sunday, TFG had convinced Moshiri, his representatives — including the financial consultancy firm Deloitte and Northridge Law, plus the numerous stakeholders — of their ability to complete a swift deal. One that should be, in the eyes of many, more beneficial to the club than Moshiri himself.
Subject to regulatory approval and court assent, TFG, led by chairman Dan Friedkin, will be Everton’s new owners.
So who are they and how prepared are they for the challenges that await at Goodison?
Those close to Friedkin have been quick to point out that he is not a one-man band and it is the broader TFG that is purchasing Everton.
He and his son, Ryan, are wealthy in their own right — billionaires, in fact — but TFG, based out of Houston, Texas, boasts annual revenues of around $13billion (£9.7bn).
The core of the business is cars. Friedkin’s father, Thomas, was another pilot and racing-car enthusiast who secured the right to sell Toyotas across five American states in the 1960s.
Gulf States Toyota, the company he set up, is now a major subsidiary of TFG and is regarded as one of the largest independent distributors in the world, serving around 160 dealers across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Dan was promoted to CEO in his mid-thirties and took over the company when Thomas passed away in 2017.
TFG has since diversified into entertainment, luxury travel and sports. TFG’s investment arm, Friedkin International, has a central London office close to Piccadilly Circus and is concerned primarily with tech.
Film company Neon, which distributed the Oscar-winning Parasite, was acquired in 2017. Friedkin has picked up several producer credits, including one for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and helped direct the 2019 American drama The Last Vermeer, starring Guy Pearce.
Friedkin, left, with filmmaker Ridley Scott and film producer Bradley Thomas, right, at the premiere of All The Money In The World (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The Friedkins hold an interest in conservation and sports. Their involvement in the latter started with naming rights deals for venues in Texas, with the NBA’s Houston Rockets, MLS side FC Dallas and USL team San Antonio FC all playing at homes called Toyota. He is the founder of the Congaree golf course in South Carolina, which has hosted PGA Tour events.
Yet their biggest move came in 2020 when they bought Roma from Jim Pallotta. Last year, they added French lower-league side Cannes to their multi-club portfolio.
Had they bought Everton even a year ago, the mood music from the Italian capital would undoubtedly have been different.
The Athletic’s James Horncastle recently noted that they were once Serie A’s most popular owners, but things have recently started to sour in the Eternal City.
Even on the TFG side, there is an acknowledgement that the timing of their purchase of Everton is unfortunate.
Recent developments make this comfortably the most challenging period the Friedkins have faced since arriving in Rome.
Friedkin playing at the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in 2023 (Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
The sacking of club legend Daniele De Rossi four games into the season, curiously after spending vast sums of money at the end of the window, has incensed Roma’s passionate ultras. Dan and Ryan hastily left the capital shortly after relieving De Rossi of his duties.
Local radio stations have suggested the club has become ‘soulless’ under American owners. In response to De Rossi’s dismissal, former sporting director Walter Sabatini said the Friedkins were living in the “delirium of omnipotence” and there have been posters around the city with “Yankee go home” on them. There has been plenty of change behind the scenes and regular churn.
CEO Lina Souloukou stood down following supporter protests over the weekend. The club’s General Counsel is expected to oversee her duties until a replacement is found.
TFG has invested around €1bn at Roma, with Dan and Ryan regular attendees at matches. Ryan has been heavily involved behind the scenes with the club, while Dan sits on UEFA and European Club Association panels. In 2022, the Friedkins opposed plans for a European Super League.
But there have been notable achievements, on and off the pitch.
In 2022, Roma became the first Italian side in 12 years to taste European success when they beat Feyenoord to lift the inaugural Europa Conference League trophy. The following year, they were beaten on penalties by Sevilla in the Europa League final.
Domestically, though, they seem to have hit a brick wall. Roma have finished seventh, sixth, sixth and sixth in the four years since TFG arrived, but the belief among fans and ownership is that a club of their stature should be challenging at the top. Champions League qualification has eluded them. In a statement shortly after De Rossi’s departure, the Friedkins said they believed the move gave Roma “the best opportunity to compete for trophies this season”.
Progress has been made off the field. Turnover increased from just under €150m in 2019-20, the season before they arrived, to €224m in their last set of published accounts (2022-23).
Commercial revenues have risen, too, in part due to sponsorship deals with Toyota and TFG’s Auberge Resorts, while losses have been halved (€204m to €102m) in their four years in charge. Ticket sales increased significantly, although the running battle with Roma’s ultras threatens to derail some of that progress.
Most see their tenure so far as something of a learning curve.
Ryan, left, is a regular at Roma with his father (Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Upon joining in 2020, a statement from TFG said it intended to “make Roma one of the greatest names in world football”. That aim, clearly, has still not been achieved.
One popular view among those who have followed their progress is that they have been well-intentioned and generous with their money, but have made mistakes. They were seduced initially by big names and high-profile agents early in their time, appointing Jose Mourinho as manager and signing Lukaku, but have not yet found a viable way to take Roma to the top. The prominent CAA Base agency has reportedly been brought in to find Souloukou’s successor as CEO.
Roma’s losses have reduced significantly, but they still breached UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules and were fined €2m this month. Given their near €100m outlay this summer, future compliance may be challenging.
The question now is how Everton and Roma will dovetail together and how TFG will manage the running of two significant clubs concurrently.
The approvals process, which is underway, affords them some time to plan their project at Everton.
The plan is for Everton and Roma to be run separately and that may end up being reflected in some of the appointments made.
One early focus will be on assessing the club’s internal structures and finding ways to strengthen a threadbare, interim board. There has been an early reluctance to discuss names, but Dan and Ryan will both be key figures. They are likely to keep a low profile during the approvals process, preferring to wait until any takeover is completed.
Despite the film stunts, spitfire planes and global business empire, the Friedkins are not viewed as typical ‘big-time’ owner types. The most common image projected of them is of humble, tight-knit, family people. They are seen as being keen to take on advice and empower employees, even if they are involved in big decisions like the De Rossi sacking.
A slick video on TFG’s website notes that “success doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built day by day, decade by decade”.
After years of watching relegation battles, Everton fans will hope they are true to their word.
(Top photo: Friedkin with the Conference League trophy in May 2022; by Silvia Lore/Getty Images)
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