Villa in dialogue with UEFA over squad cost abnormalities as they are negotiating financial deal with governing body.
Villa in dialogue with UEFA as breach of 80% cap pertains to 2023-24 campaign.
After being judged to have violated the squad cost ratio guidelines (SCR) of the European regulatory body last season, Aston Villa has started talks with Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) regarding a financial compensation.
Clubs participating in European competition were obligated by Uefa regulations to maintain player pay and fees at 80% of income last season; this year, that figure has fallen to 70%.
Last Monday, Villa released their 2023–24 financial statements, showing that their total revenue was £257.7 million and their total salary bill was £252 million. The Guardian has been informed that their player expenditures over the 80% cap last season, when Unai Emery’s team advanced to the Europa Conference League semifinals, even though the salaries of non-football staff are not taken into account when calculating Uefa SCR.
Despite indicating in their 2023-24 financial report that they might be found in violation of Uefa’s regulations, Villa has not commented on their compliance or lack thereof. “We continue to operate within the Premier League’s Profit [sic] and Sustainability Rules” (PSR),” according to a notation in their books, but Uefa’s SCR was left out.
Villa faces another financial punishment after Uefa fined them £52,000 last year for submitting their accounts beyond the deadline. They will participate in the process of making decisions. With a mandate to help enforce the rules, the CFCB functions separately from Uefa’s leadership.
Villa will probably have to submit to a spending plan, and the CFCB will have the authority to apply harsher penalties if the club doesn’t follow it. Last year, Istanbul Basaksehir was placed under a registration embargo and given a suspended one-year suspension from Uefa competitions, while Roma was fined £1.75 million for multiple violations in 2023.
Even if the CFCB will request that Villa reduce their wage cost, they are unlikely to face such harsh sanctions at this time.