Saturday 4 January 2020 07:59, UK
Former Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov says he is keen to join his friend and business partner Farhad Moshiri as an investor in Everton.
Usmanov describes himself as a Gunners fan and held 30 per cent of the club until selling his shares to Stan Kroenke in 2018.
But the Russian businessman could now turn his attentions to another Premier League club, with Moshiri already established as Everton's majority shareholder.
Asked by the Financial Times if he could invest in Everton, Usmanov said: "Yes, with great pleasure, if [Moshiri] asks. I am thinking about my investment in this club.
"[But] I cannot reject Arsenal. I will not leave them as a fan. But if I join Everton, then I will wear an Everton shirt, because I am a professional."
Usmanov's holding company USM has sponsored Everton's Finch Farm training ground since 2017, and the 66-year-old has expressed his interest in the naming rights of the club's proposed Bramley-Moore Dock stadium.
"It's not obligatory for me to participate myself. I could sponsor them. I could be a shareholder. They're going to build a new stadium. Why not the USM Arena?" asked Usmanov.
He also suggested it had been a mistake for Kroenke to buy him out of Arsenal in 2018 rather than work together as joint owners of the club.
"If we had worked together, we would definitely have achieved so much more," said Usmanov. "But the time will come for more success and Arsenal's fans will come back to the stadium.
