David Moyes says he has never met or spoken to Everton owner Dan Friedkin since returning as manager in January 2025.
Friedkin is head of The Friedkin Group, which runs the club from its base in Houston, but has not attended a home game since completing a takeover of the club in December 2024.
How the club is run and who is responsible for making key decisions came under close scrutiny during the summer transfer window.
Speaking to reporters before Everton‘s match against Manchester United on Sunday, Moyes reiterated his commitment to the club despite a chaotic end to the window.
When asked if he had ever met or spoken to Friedkin in the 20 months since he was reappointed as manager, Moyes’ answer was a simple “No”.
Friedkin leaves the day-to-day running of the club to his son-in-law Rishi Majithia, who works in tandem with chief executive Angus Kinnear.
“My real contact is Angus,” said Moyes. “Angus is the one who I would go to see. Rishi is the next one and then the head of the Friedkin family in America.
“I don’t really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to.”
Fans reacted angrily during last Saturday’s match at Bournemouth following news the club had accepted a £40m bid from Nottingham Forest for one of their prized assets, England Under-19s midfielder Harrison Armstrong.
Everton eventually pulled out of the deal, but supporters remain frustrated by decisions made by the board in the remainder of the transfer window.
Beto was sold to Fiorentina on deadline day on Tuesday, before the club had secured a replacement striker, with USA forward Folarin Balogun then backing out of a move to Everton from Monaco at the 11th hour on Tuesday.
Everton finished the transfer window with a squad of just 18 senior players, including only one striker, one right-back and one left-back.
Moyes aligned himself with Everton fans last weekend when asked about plans to sell Armstrong, saying the club was “managed by an Evertonian” and “supporters aren’t always wrong”.
And he acknowledged on Friday that there was work to do done on the club’s structure behind the scenes: “We’ve got new owners in who are still feeling their way in the club. I think if we get to know each other more it will get better.”
But the former Manchester United and West Ham boss said he would not walk away from the challenge of unifying a club that he led to a succession of top-five finishes in the Premier League between 2002 and 2013 in his first stint as manager.
“Everton‘s different,” said Moyes, when asked if he had considered quitting. “I wouldn’t have come back for anybody but Everton.
“I think the club here has had enough days where the people find a way of recovering. People saw the face of Evertonians last week and it can be really powerful. I would expect them to be really powerful now.
“But powerful for the team, powerful for the players. What we’re going to need from them is extra because we’re short, so we need them. If they’re not with us, then it’s terrible. And they are with us, I believe they are with us.”
