Exclusive: ‘Aston Villa have breached financial rules’
Aston Villa have dramatically turned their fortunes around on the pitch over the past couple of years as they battle for Champions League football again this season.
Unai Emery’s side currently sit sixth in the Premier League, level on points with fifth-place Manchester City heading into the final few weeks of the campaign.
There are expected to be five Champions League spots on offer to top-flight clubs this season as England is comfortably clear in Uefa’s coefficient rankings.
The West Midlands giants qualified for the Champions League last season after finishing fourth in the table.
Villa posted a club-record revenue in 2023-24 after their turnover increased from £217.7million in 2022-23 to £275.7million, while their losses fell from £119.6million to £85.4million.
However, the club’s wages increased from £194million to £252million across the same period.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Villa have likely breached Uefa’s financial rules after they didn’t mention complying with the regulations in their statement.
Clubs in European competitions were required to keep spending on player wages and fees to 80 per cent of revenue as part of the squad cost ratio (SCR) rules for the 2024 calendar year.
Emery’s side are set to face PSG in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this month as they look to book their place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Aston Villa punishment revealed after Uefa twist
Borson revealed Villa will likely receive a financial penalty from Uefa following their expected breach.
He told Football Insider: “The revenue is at the top end of what we might have expected, so that’s good, but so are their costs.
“What’s interesting is that they say that they’re compliant with Premier League PSR, which again wasn’t a shock because of all the transactions that they did on 30 June.
“But it’s conspicuous that they don’t mention that they’re compliant with Uefa rules.
“Given that they’re in the Champions League quarter-finals, you would have thought they’d have mentioned the Uefa compliance.
“I think that’s because they are not compliant with Uefa rules and they have breached. That would be the likely situation.
“It’s not a big deal because they’ll just get a financial penalty, but I think it is confirmation that they have breached, and we’ll see from Uefa what the penalty is in due course.”
| Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
| 1 | Liverpool | 30 | 73 | +43 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 31 | 62 | +30 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 31 | 57 | +14 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 30 | 52 | +17 |
| 5 | Man City | 30 | 51 | +17 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 31 | 51 | 0 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 29 | 50 | +10 |
Aston Villa well placed to agree Dusan Vlahovic deal
Football Insider revealed on 4 April Villa want to sign Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic in a deal worth potentially as little as £30million this summer.
It comes after Jhon Duran left Villa Park in January, with Emery scouring the market for potential attacking additions.
Football Insider revealed on 13 March Tammy Abraham wants to re-join Villa as he hopes to secure a return to the Premier League.
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