Unai Emery Aston Villa manager
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Manchester United’s continued financial restructuring has remained a central theme of the summer.
INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are keen to avoid any breaches that could land the club in hot water.
Having previously faced warnings over financial sustainability and spending caps, United are working hard to stay compliant.
That’s seen them trim wages, sanction brutal exits, and seek value over vanity in the market.
Five United players have already handed in transfer requests to help ease the wage burden and free up room for reinforcements.
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This measured approach is increasingly being validated across the league, as other top-flight sides now face the consequences of overspending.
The latest to be punished besides Chelsea, are Aston Villa.
According to The Telegraph’s report, Aston Villa have been fined £9.5million (€11m) by UEFA after breaching two key financial rules – the squad cost ratio and football earnings regulations.
The club accepted an unconditional £5m (€6m) fine for breaching the squad cost ratio, which limits spending on player costs to 80% of total revenue for clubs in European competition.
They were also fined a further £4m (€5m) for violating UEFA’s football earnings rule.
A rule which allows for a maximum loss of €200m (£168.4m) over a three-year cycle.
Villa, who are in regular dialogue with UEFA, are not expected to face a mass exodus of players despite the fines.
They have committed to reducing their player costs by around 20% over the next two summers.
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To remain within Premier League financial regulations, Telegraph Sport also reported that Villa have agreed to sell a stake in their women’s team.
While one major player sale – possibly involving goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, is anticipated.
United remain strongly linked to sign the Argentinian.
Other potential departures include Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Leander Dendoncker and Louie Barry.
According to Birmingham Live, UEFA have also imposed List A squad registration restrictions on Villa.
They cannot register a new player in UEFA competitions unless their List A transfer balance is positive.
Although this is not considered a major concern for the club.
This condition will become unconditional in the 2025/26 season.
Despite the punishment, Villa remain confident of continued progression under Unai Emery, who once led them to Champions League football and a Conference League semi-final.
The financial pressure is now very real – not just for the Villans but for the Premier League as a whole.
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