Chelsea handed massive fine over spending breaches – and more could follow
Telegraph Sport reported this week that Villa owners V Sports will sell a stake in its women's team to an external investor and the rest within the group, generating a profit of around £55 million. The club is also looking at the sale of the new live indoor venue at Villa Park, The Warehouse, which is as yet unfinished.
In addition, Chelsea and Aston Villa have both fallen on the wrong side of Uefa's new financial control system, the squad cost rules (SCR) which dictate no more than 80 per cent of revenue can be spent on wages and additional costs such as agents' fees. In Chelsea's case that has resulted in an €11 million fine, and for Villa €6 million.
Premier League financial controls do not forbid clubs from selling assets within the ownership group, and nor have the 20 clubs taken steps to rule out player swaps. As a consequence both clubs will pass the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR). At the Premier League AGM last month, there was so little support for a change to PSR that clubs did not even progress to vote on the issue.
Also hit hard were Barcelona, fined €60 million with €45 million of that suspended over two years for declaring non-admissible income. The troubled French club Lyon, at which US investor John Textor has recently stepped down from the board, was fined €12.5 million with a further €37.5 million suspended over four years. Lyon still face the prospect of relegation to Ligue 2 by French regulators.
Villa wish to avoid a mass exodus of stars and plan one 'big' sale, with the future of Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez still uncertain. Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Leander Dendoncker and Louie Barry will be more obvious sales this summer.
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