Aston Villa’s latest move leaves stakeholders questioning if it’s accounting brilliance or PSR gymnastics.
Aston Villa has reportedly agreed to sell its women’s team to V Sports, the club’s parent company, for about $75.2m (£55m).
This sale is widely seen as a last-ditch effort to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). These rules prevent clubs from losing more than $143.6m (£105m) over three seasons or facing penalties such as point deductions and fines.
Today (June 30) marks the financial year-end for most top English clubs, including Aston Villa. Recently, the Villans have attracted media attention as the club most at risk of breaching the PSR.
The club reportedly stated it has no PSR compliance issues. However, many in football find this hard to believe given the deal’s timing. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire posted to X: “I never saw that coming, pure coincidence that it occurred on the final day of the financial year too. Time to move on.”
Under accounting rules, a sale agreed in principle after June 30, even if the price isn’t yet finalised, can still be included in the 2024/25 accounts.
While this deal may ease some financial pressure and satisfy Premier League rules, UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules pose a different challenge.
UEFA does not allow clubs to count income from sales to related parties when assessing FFP compliance. So, while Villa’s move might help avoid Premier League penalties, UEFA won’t count this revenue when deciding their eligibility for European competitions.
Villa is set to compete in the Europa League next season and is reportedly already in talks with UEFA to address any concerns. This matters because V Sports, the parent company, was founded by the club’s billionaire owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris.
Following Chelsea’s lead
Chelsea made headlines earlier this year by selling its women’s team for around $273.6m (£200m).
Chelsea FC’s majority owners, BlueCo, completed the full acquisition of Chelsea FC Women. This transformed Chelsea’s pre-tax loss of £90m for the financial year ending June 30, 2024, into a pre-tax profit of £128.4m, according to the club.
Though this method appears to be the most popular for raising funds quickly, it isn’t the only one available. Another viable option would be to sell naming rights to stadiums. Atletico Madrid sold its stadium naming rights to Riyadh Air in October 2024 for approximately $351.8m (€300m)
UEFA is expected to fine both Chelsea and Aston Villa clubs as it cracks down on creative accounting practices.
