Everton were prepared to smash transfer record to sign World Cup star

Everton's recent spending has come under intense scrutiny as they were handed a 10-point deduction last Friday after being found to have breached the Premier League’s financial rules. But back in 1966 manager Harry Catterick admitted he would have been prepared to break the bank to sign World Cup Golden Boot winner Eusebio.

Eusebio was the top scorer on the only occasion that England have hosted the tournament, netting six of his nine goals in his two appearances at Goodison Park and Catterick revealed he would have been prepared to bring the prolific marksman back to Walton on a permanent basis. As covered in an ECHO article to mark Black History Month, before the arrival of fan favourite Daniel Amokachi in 1994, Everton entered the Premier League era with an all-white playing squad. But had the FA been more accommodating towards allowing its clubs to snap up overseas talent then Blues boss Catterick, who had a reputation for big deals in an era in which Everton were nicknamed ‘The Mersey Millionaires’ thanks to John Moores’ generous financial backing, was prepared to splash the cash to land global stars like Eusebio.

The striker – who was the first major football talent from sub-Saharan Africa to shine on the big stage having been born in the then Portuguese colony of Mozambique – netted 41 goals in 64 internationals and enjoyed a phenomenal scoring rate at club level with Benfica, plundering 473 goals in 440 matches for the Lisbon giants, with whom he won 11 domestic titles and the 1962 European Cup. Eusebio never forgot his exploits at Goodison Park though and when returning to Everton's home for a Europa League match in November 2009, he said: “Sorry, I don’t speak good English. But today for me, for my family, it’s