Premier League rivals Aston Villa, Manchester United and West Ham must take note after football finance expert Kieran Maguire dropped PSR bombshells live on air.
West Ham fans have been venting their fury at claims from the club that they are at their limit in terms of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently claimed Manchester United would have ‘gone bust at Christmas’ without major and controversial changes to reduce running costs by around £125 million.
Ratcliffe, once linked with an interest in taking over West Ham, even went as far as to state Man United would have been faced with “talking to the insolvency guys” or renegotiating with the bank.
Meanwhile Aston Villa’s ambitious owners have previously threatened to sue the Premier League over PSR, claiming it is restricting them from pushing the club on even further.
Who are the Premier League’s biggest PSR strugglers?
Hammers majority owner David Sullivan has come under fire with calls – and a petition – for him to sell up in light of West Ham insisting they cannot buy until they sell players.
A top Sky Sports journalist told West Ham fans to ‘look at Aston Villa’ when it comes to PSR amid unrest towards Sullivan and the Hammers board.
West Ham issued a shocking £100m statement and made a new claim about transfer funds for Graham Potter’s rebuild.
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Reports have also stated Aston Villa must sell players by the end of June in order to comply with PSR.
So fans of West Ham and Villa have been left understandably baffled by the sight of supposedly cash-strapped Manchester United kicking off the summer transfer window by splashing out £65m on Matheus Cunha before launching straight into an equally big deal to try and sign Bryan Mbeumo.
Aston Villa v West Ham United - Emirates FA Cup Third Round
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All the while Villa must sell a valuable star and West Ham are looking to offload key player Mohammed Kudus – with Man United even being linked with the Ghanaian.
Now one of the leading voices and minds on football finance has spoken on the subject and it addresses the issue for all three clubs – inadvertently putting pressure on one of them in particular.
Kieran Maguire has dropped a PSR bombshell live on air that Aston Villa, West Ham and Man United must take note of.
Maguire is the author of the Price of Football books and co-host of the podcast of the same name.
He has addressed the tricky issue by naming Villa as the Premier League’s biggest PSR strugglers while explaining why there has been no let up in Man United’s spending.
Maguire’s PSR bombshells – Villa, West Ham and Man United must take note
Maguire recently cast doubt on West Ham’s situation being as bad as the board are projecting.
Maguire described West Ham’s PSR claims as ‘odd’ when speaking exclusively to Hammers News.
David Ornstein has also called West Ham’s bluff about PSR.
He suggested the club are feeding fans something of a red herring over finances.
Now Sullivan may have questions to answer as West Ham were conspicuous by their absence from Maguire’s assessment.
“Of the 20 Premier League clubs, Villa are the ones we are most concerned about,” Maguire told Sky Sports News.
🗣️ "Of the 20 Premier League clubs, Villa are the ones we are most concerned about"
Kieran Maguire says Aston Villa "will have to box clever" to meet the Premier League's financial rules . pic.twitter.com/JmFVsckgnR
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 11, 2025
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“Last season, when they did qualify for the Champions League, for every £100 of revenue Aston Villa brought in they spent £91 on wages. Those players will have had contract step ups for qualifying for the Champions League.
“And remember Villa have done very well in that competition so that will be a plus and they have sold some players as well in both last summer’s market and the January one.
“But there is still a perception that Villa will have to box clever and of all of the clubs under pressure to sell players by the 30th of June, I guess they’re the ones who give the most attention because they’re spending in the last couple of years, before getting into Europe, was so extensive.”
Reading Women v West Ham United Ladies - Women's FA Cup Semi Final
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Hammers conspicuous by absence from PSR danger zone chat
West Ham fans will note their club not being mentioned given the picture being painted of their financial situation.
When explaining why Man United can continue to go out and spend big, Maguire said their giant status and some clever accounting is key.
He says the Red Devils have been using another company called Red Football for PSR purposes.
Which begs the question why West Ham and Aston Villa can’t do the same.
“We need to remember that this is Manchester United,” Maguire added.
“So sponsors still want to be associated with them, fans will still flock to Old Trafford and I think they will be anticipating a better season in the Premier League.
“The third main issue is that all of the focus has been on Manchester United PLC’s accounts, which are registered in New York, and there we saw a loss of £131m last year.
“But that is not the company which is used for PSR purposes – because you’ve got to be based in the UK – and it looks as if Manchester United have been using another company called Red Football and the losses there were only £36m. So therefore they’re £100m better off for PSR purposes on the back of that.
“Manchester United are still a destination club.”
"Manchester United have been using another company called Red Football for PSR purposes"
Kieran Maguire explains Manchester United's financial situation and how they are able to afford the likes of Matheus Cunha in this transfer window 🔴 pic.twitter.com/eqftjCRwUo
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 11, 2025
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This may raise more questions than answers at West Ham United.
But the biggest question it raises is does PSR truly serve its purpose.
After all it seems to restrict truly ambitious clubs while giving others the perfect excuse not to spend and to asset strip.