Richard Keys drops Manchester City right in it as Everton ordered to pay £35m

Richard Keys has fumed at the Premier League for allowing Everton to be ordered to pay Burnley around £35million in compensation.

Burnley had been seeking damages after they were relegated from the Premier League in the 2021-22 season, when Everton were found guilty of breaching PSR rules.

The Premier League's independent commission reached a verdict on Wednesday that means the Toffees now owe around £26m in initial compensation and another £9.1m in interest.

Keys, who is a broadcaster for beIN Sports, took to X to slam the decision and point towards how Man City's legal case remains ongoing.

He said: "The Premier League are having a laugh. Everton are to pay £40m to Burnley because of PSR breaches in 21/22? Burnley were relegated because they were (bad), not because of anything Everton did. How about getting the (Man) City case settled before we hear anymore about PSR at other clubs?"

His frustrations have been shared by Everton fans online, as well as the club themselves, who have released an official statement to express their dismay at the ruling.

Everton are set to appeal the decision as they look to bring the compensation fee down, but it remains to be seen if they will be successful after such a lengthy investigation.

Everton finished 16th in the Premier League on 39 points in 2021-22, while with Leeds in 17th on 38 points, while Burnley were relegated in 18th on 35 points.

Burnley sued Everton at the end of the that season after it came to light that the Merseyside outfit had breached the PL's profit and sustainability rules in the four-year period up to June 2022.

They were charged and later deducted 10 points in November 2023, but the legal case remained ongoing as the Clarets felt the Toffees had gained an unfair advantage over them during 2021-22.

Burnley argued during the investigation that they would have stayed in the top flight had Everton been handed a points deduction during that campaign, so were seeking around £60m in lost earnings.

An independent panel has now ordered Everton to just over half of that figure to the Turf Moor side, but they have hit back with a statement on social media.

The statement read: "This ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year.

“Everton believes the panel’s ruling misrepresents the clear evidence presented by its legal representatives and that an appeal will be successful. The club is confident of its ongoing PSR compliance and has also obtained confirmation from the Premier League of its clear position that this ruling should not be the cause of any future PSR sanction.”

Sources with insider knowledge of the situation have previously insisted to Football Insider that Burnley have set a "dangerous" precedent by proceeding with their case against Everton.

The likes of Chelsea and Man City will surely be sweating over potential legal action being taken against them following the ruling.

Everton fans will likely only care about whether their club can spend money on players this summer as they look to push for Europe next season.

Football finance expert, Stefan Borson, has insisted on X that the ruling should not affect their summer spending, with former chief Farhad Moshiri likely to be covering the costs.