Claims that Farhad Moshiri is looking to sell his stake in Everton have been met with a firm denial.
Sources close to Moshiri have rubbished suggestions he is looking to leave the Blues and that he has made his 93,698 shares available to buy.
Broadcaster Richard Keys, in a blog post this week, said a friend of his had been offered the club "for £500m" and that the club "is available for purchase."
But Moshiri, who owns 92.16% of shares, has no intention of selling up, sources have told the ECHO.
Keys also said that Alisher Usmanov, whose USM Holdings are Everton's main backer and have signed a stadium naming rights deal, has "given up" and did not want to financially support the club anymore.
But those close to Usmanov have, equally, reacted to the suggestions with scorn, saying the claims are not true.
Moshiri, it is said, remains firmly committed to Everton, seeing the club as a 'long-term project' which includes building a 52,000 capacity stadium on the city's waterfront.
The billionaire, who first bought a 49.9% stake in the club in 2016, has already poured around £100m in the new stadium project to help fund enabling works on the dock site.
Everton's new stadium is expected to cost just over £500m.
Rafa Benitez also heads into the 239th Merseyside derby on Wednesday night, believing he has the full support of Moshiri and the Everton board.
The Blues are winless in seven league games and defeat to Liverpool would match the eight league games without victory the club endured in late 1999.
But a win for Everton would see the first back-to-back league derby wins since 1985.
