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Everton agree to pay Watford £4m in compensation for manager Marco Silva as Premier League inquiry into alleged tapping up is avoided
- Watford sacked Marco Silva in 2017 after Everton allegedly tapped him up
- It was claimed an ‘unwarranted approach’ had been ‘the catalyst’ for his axing
- Everton appointed Silva in May 2018 and Watford demanded money from them
- The case was settled on Friday, meaning a Premier League inquiry is not needed
Everton have finally resolved their long-running dispute with Watford and agreed compensation for their appointment of Marco Silva.
The wrangle, which dates back to November 2017, has been solved with Everton paying more than £4million to Watford for the Portuguese; both clubs posted short statements on Friday night to say the conclusion had been ‘amicable’.
Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder, wanted Silva to succeed Ronald Koeman when he sacked him 18 months ago and initially offered more than £10m to the Vicarage Road club in recompense.
Everton boss Marco Silva returned to Watford for a Premier League match earlier this month
However, Watford were enraged with Everton’s attempts to recruit Silva and reported them to the Premier League for an illegal approach, insisting that he had been ‘tapped up’.
Silva became Everton head coach last May and club officials hoped to make a breakthrough during talks over Richarlison’s £45m move; that business was conducted cordially but Watford did not want to discuss Silva’s case at the same time.
They wanted the Premier League to take action and they, in turn, appointed a law firm to discuss with all parties exactly what had happened. Potential sanctions could have included a huge fine or potentially a points deduction.
In December Silva was taunted by Watford fans, who took inflatable snakes to Goodison Park
It will have come as a relief to the Premier League that this case is now over but relations between Everton and Watford are unlikely to repaired; Watford, who sacked Silva in January 2018, blamed Everton’s approach for disrupting their season.
Everton return to action on Tuesday at Cardiff and the irony of this settlement is the fact that Silva remains under pressure following a desperate run of results.
The season has become a write off for Everton following the FA Cup exit at Championship club Millwall and Silva needs to show Moshiri in the coming weeks that he has the ability to turn things around.
Richarlison (left) followed Silva to Everton, with Watford receiving a £45million fee in July
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