Farhad Moshiri has insisted Everton are not for sale, amid reports that several parties are interested in taking over the Premier League club.
Everton finished 16th last season, their lowest Premier League placing since the 2003-04 campaign, when they came 17th.
Frank Lampard – appointed midway through the season after Rafael Benitez was sacked – managed to secure safety with a game to spare, thanks to a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
However, Everton's reckless spending during the Moshiri era, which began in 2016 and has seen six permanent managers lose their jobs prior to Lampard taking charge, means they were on the brink of breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.
As such, a large sale was required ahead of the new campaign, with Richarlison sold for a reported £50million, rising to £60m including add-ons, to Tottenham at the end of June.
With a new stadium on Liverpool's waterfront under construction, widespread reports over the off-season have claimed that multiple parties are interested in purchasing Everton.
The most prominent, an American consortium fronted by former Chelsea and Manchester United executive Peter Kenyon, was said to be close to agreeing a deal, with reports even going as far as to say the group were confident of buying the club ahead of the start of Everton's pre-season tour of the United States.
That tour is now under way and with no deal having been completed, Moshiri has now insisted the club has not been up for sale, though he acknowledged he is hoping to find additional investors.
In a statement issued on Everton's official website, he said: "There has been much talk of investment in our football club recently – even takeovers – but I want to clarify that there is no 'for sale' sign currently hanging outside Everton Football Club.
"It will always be pragmatic to explore all potential investment opportunities and, as I have been transparent about, I am focused on completing the financing for our fantastic new stadium as well as strengthening the playing squad and that might include a minority investment. That will continue. But I want to reassure all of you that Everton Football Club is not for sale."
While Richarlison has been sold and Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cenk Tosun have all left on free transfers, with loan deals for Donny van de Beek and Anwar El Ghazi expiring, only James Tarkowski – on a free from relegated Burnley – has joined Everton so far.
But Moshiri is adamant the squad will be added to, despite Everton's financial constraints.
"My commitment to the club remains strong and focused and [director of football] Kevin Thelwell and the chairman [Bill Kenwright] are currently working hard to bring in new players to improve Frank Lampard’s squad," the statement continued.
"There will be new signings and I would ask supporters to judge us at the end of the transfer window – not now – and to listen to official club channels for information."
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
Metz 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Ligue 1 champions make history with unbeaten away run
Paris Saint-Germain ended their Ligue 1 campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win at Metz on Sunday, courtesy of early goals from Carlos Soler and Lee Kang-in.
The Ligue 1 champions, who rested several key players, ended the season with 76 points, nine ahead of Monaco in second place.
Luis Enrique's team also became the first side in Ligue 1 history to go unbeaten on the road through the entirety of a campaign.
PSG rested several key players, including Kylian Mbappe, ahead of the Coupe de France final on Saturday against Lyon.
The visitors made an excellent start with Soler, who was teed up by Lee, breaking the deadlock with a shot from outside the box seven minutes in.
Lee subsequently doubled the lead five minutes later, becoming the first South Korean player to score and deliver an assist in the same Ligue 1 match since Hwang Ui-jo for Bordeaux in 2019.
Metz had their chances late in the match and went close on several occasions, but could not find a way back into the contest, and they will now face a relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne.
Data Debrief: History boys
PSG are the first team in Europe's top five leagues to have gone an entire league season without trailing for a single minute in an away match in the 21st century.
Their tally of 76 points trails only Saint-Etienne (77 in 1968-69, 81 in 1969-70, counting three points for a win) when it comes to a points total over the course of an 18-club league campaign.
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