Aston Villa told to 'pay up' as Unai Emery sets up £10m offset

Aston Villa will have to pay of a fine of just shy of £10 million if found guilty of breaching UEFA’s financial regulations, BirminghamWorld understands.

The Villans are under investigation for a potential breach of UEFA’s squad cost ratio (SCR) rules for the 2024 calendar year. The regulations state that clubs must not spend more than 80 per cent of their revenue on player costs, but Unai Emery’s side have allegedly gone well above that limit.

Villa’s struggles to comply were exposed recently as they made a request to fellow Premier League clubs to increase the limit for the planned implementation of SCR in the English top flight for 2025/26. The Villans asked for the limit to be put at 90 per cent but the Premier League are expected to roll with 85 per cent instead after Villa’s bid failed to attract enough support from fellow clubs.

As detailed by The Times, Deloitte’s financial report in January stated that Villa’s wages to revenue ratio was 96 per cent in the 2023-24 season. Villa are expected to be in breach of UEFA’s laws as a result and BirminghamWorld has been told the likely fine will be in the region of £10 million.

The punishment would come as a huge blow for Villa but there’s one silver lining. If Emery’s side progress to the quarter-final of this season’s Champions League, the prize money will be £10.5 million, in a sense lessening the blow. There’s still a two-legged tie ahead to achieve that but the last 16 draw against Club Brugge is arguably the most favourable possible fixture on paper.

Aston Villa dealt tough financial hand

It’s been a difficult couple of years for Villa who have been frustrated by the nature of the financial restrictions set out by both UEFA and the Premier League. It’s understood the hierarchy believe the elite clubs are favoured by the rules as they are able to generate far more revenue regardless of player sales.

The 2024 summer transfer window was a prime example of Villa suffering as several important players had to depart to keep in line with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Moussa Diaby was sold to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad for a slight profit at £52 million, while Douglas Luiz was sacrificed in a major swap deal with Juventus worth over £40 million.

Villa, unlike Everton and Nottingham Forest, got over the line and managed to avoid punishment but it’s not going to be easy to remain innocent. With this in mind, Villa asked at the recent Premier League annual meeting for the permitted losses under PSR to rise from £105 million over three years to £135 million, but too many fellow top-tier clubs rejected the request.

In other news, Villa have two new injury concerns ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.