Everton plunged into yet more chaos on Monday as it emerged they are being sued by former manager Carlo Ancelotti and three board members quit.
Chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, finance director Grant Ingles and club legend Graeme Sharp, who had a non-executive role, issued a joint statement to announce their departures.
There has been speculation about their future for most of the last six months — neither they nor chairman Bill Kenwright have attended a match at Goodison Park since January 4 — but the announcement is still highly significant.
It played out against the remarkable backdrop of Real Madrid boss Ancelotti — who was in charge of Everton between December 2019 and June 2021 — taking the club to the High Court over ‘general commercial contracts and arrangements’.