Frank Lampard has refuted claims he was interviewed by Alisher Usmanov prior to becoming Everton manager.
Usmanov’s involvement at Goodison Park came under fresh scrutiny after his assets were frozen by the European Union over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Blues confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended commercial ties with all of Usmanov’s companies including MegaFon and USM Holdings.
But reports alleged that the Uzbekistan-born billionaire had been involved in the final vetting process to decide Rafael Benitez’s successor via a Zoom call.
Lampard, however, insists that Usmanov had no direct input on his interview during an improptu call with Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
He said: “I always try and stay away from talking about the interview (process).
“But I think this is important because of where we are at.
“As I went for my interview, Mr Usmanov was on a Zoom call with Mr Moshiri, our owner.
“I walked into that but at absolutely no point was that part of the interview. The interview happened after that event, with the board.
“I don’t think it’s right to talk about interviews. But that’s for clarification.”