Aston Villa news: Kieran Maguire issues £13m reveal as ‘big’ changes coming in March
Aston Villa need to boost their matchday income to narrow the gap between themselves and the financial elite of the Premier League.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Villa’s financial performance over the last two years.
The Premier League announced last Sunday (13 February) that all Covid restrictions would be lifted by the beginning of March.
Villa, who are yet to release their 2020-21 accounts, were one of the hardest-hit clubs in the top-flight in 2019-20 and posted a loss of £99.2million.
But Maguire argues that they have weathered the storm and their attention will now turn towards boosting matchday income beyond £12.5million.
“There are two elements to this,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Firstly, there is a cash element. With the wealth of Edens and Sawiris, Villa have been able to shore up the business from a cash perspective.
“They do have a very solid base now, thanks to that.
“They would have been disappointed because Covid impacted the last few months of their first season in the Premier League.
“That meant they earned less money in 2020 than they did in 2014 and 2015 even though the value of the TV rights has increased since then.
“The ability to generate full matchday revenues will be a big plus point but the challenge is how does it convert that into significant revenues.
“They only made £12.5m from matchday income from their last season in the Premier League with full attendances.
“That is still one of the main differences between themselves and the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham etcetera.”
Villa are expected to reveal their 2020-21 financial results in the coming weeks.
Man City are the only Premier League side, and of the only teams in Europe, to have posted a profit for the season.
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