Stefan Borson: Aston Villa could land extra £50m after stunning twist
Aston Villa are currently on course to secure a return to the Champions League for next season.
Unai Emery’s side narrowly missed out on back-to-back Champions League campaigns after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season.
Villa are the favourites to win the Europa League following their performances in the competition over the past couple of months.
That would automatically secure them a place in next season’s Champions League.
However, that might not be necessary after Villa’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal on 6 December cemented their position in the top four of the Premier League table.
Aston Villa in line for ‘very significant’ financial boost
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Villa could rake in around £50million more from qualifying for the Champions League compared to what they will earn from the Europa League this season.
Villa banked around £70m in prize money from the Champions League last season before being knocked out by eventual winners PSG in the quarter-finals.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the financial benefits of Villa securing a return to the Champions League, Borson said: “It would be very significant and given where they are, given the challenges that they have, which they’ve dealt with really well obviously, it would be very significant.
“They’re going to go deep in the Europa League. It would be the same in the Conference League, although you’d expect them to win the Conference League outright.”
Villa secured a 2-1 victory over Basel in the Europa League on Thursday (11 December), with Emery’s side sitting third in the table and level on points with leaders Lyon.
Aston Villa could land £40m windfall
Borson insisted the money from progressing into the latter rounds of the Europa League isn’t insignificant, but it’s far lower than the riches on offer in the Champions League.
“They’re going to go deep in the Europa League, and that means that they are going to get let’s say between £30-40m, depending on whether they win it or just fall away in the semis or the final,” said Borson.
“That is not an insignificant amount of money from that tournament, but that’s clearly before costs. Then if you compare it to getting to the quarters of the Champions League or maybe the round of 16, you’re talking about a £50m difference.
“Then obviously each time you make further progress, it’s more and more different. Maybe £10m per round you’re getting.”
Villa have played European football in each of the past three campaigns under Emery following his impressive work in the West Midlands.
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