Aston Villa to make millions after Leeds United promotion to Premier League - finance expert reveals

Next season’s Premier League line up is taking shape with 18 of the 20 teams now confirmed.

With just a few matches to go in both the top tier and the Championship, relegations and promotions have already been locked in. Southampton, rock bottom of the table all campaign long, became the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games to go. Leicester City then followed suit as the recent 1-0 defeat to Liverpool sealed their fate.

Ipswich Town are all but confirmed to be going down, too. To stay up, the Tractor Boys would need to win all five of their remaining matches and overturn a 20-goal difference swing to 17th-placed West Ham United.

Two of the three teams rising up from the Championship were confirmed on Easter Monday as Leeds United and Burnley won their games to move eight points clear of third-placed Sheffield United with two games to go. Leeds pummelled Stoke City 6-0 at Elland Road to seal promotion in style, while Burnley vitally saw off Sheffield United in a tense 2-1 win at Turf Moor.

The third will be decided via the play-offs, with the Blades and Sunderland already qualified. Bristol City and Coventry City look the two likeliest to clinch the final spots, though Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers are still in with a slim chance.

Aston Villa set for windfall after Leeds and Burnley promotions

Both Leeds and Burnley have received parachute payments from the Premier League since their relegations in 2023 and 2024 and would have been due them for 2025/26 had they not gone up.

According to Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert, Leeds and Burnley would have been in line for a combined £51 million this summer. That money won’t just disappear into oblivion, as that pot of cash will instead be divided equally between the current top-flight teams, meaning Villa will land a tidy £2.55 million.

It might not sound like much but every million matters when the Villans are treading a fine line with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR). Much of Villa’s spending is on hefty salaries, so an extra £2.55 million could cover at least a few players’ monthly wages, for example.

Explaining the process via his X (formerly Twitter) page, Maguire wrote: “When Leicester & Southampton were relegated in 2022/23 and promoted the following season £102m in parachute payments were saved...these savings have been split between Premier League clubs. Should Burnley and Leeds be promoted today, then a further £51m will be saved...this will also be divided between PL clubs.

“Instead of receiving parachute payments of £35m and £16m next season, Burnley and Leeds will both be picking up £110m plus in the Premier League. The parachute payments not being paid out will be divided by the 20 PL clubs.”

In other news, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola paid the ultimate compliment to Villa after Emery’s side lost 2-1 at the Etihad.