- Everton’s former manager and oligarch sponsor held discussions
- Issue may be behind Ancelotti’s high court case against Everton
Carlo Ancelotti, the decorated manager who is suing his former club Everton, held discussions with a controversial Russian oligarch about a series of incentive payments that were dependent on Everton’s performance in the Premier League.
The Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov proposed the bonuses at about the time Ancelotti was in talks to take the Everton job in 2019, sources say. The suggestion raises questions about whether a proposed side deal between Ancelotti and Usmanov is behind the manager filing a claim against Everton in London’s high court.