Bizarre as it may seem to fans frustrated by their limitations in the transfer market, some analysts believe Aston Villa are arguably one of the success stories of the Premier League’s divisive Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Under the ownership of Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, whose NSWE joint venture bought the club in 2018 before later taking on investment from the private equity firm Atairos, Villa have massively increased expenditure at the West Midlands club.
In the era of Tony Xia, before the NSWE takeover went through, Aston Villa were reportedly days away from administration after missing out on promotion to the Premier League at the end of 2017-18. They were also staring down the barrel of a Championship financial fair play breach.
Chart showing Aston Villa squad cost compared to revenue over time, with TBR Football logo
Aston Villa squad cost vs revenue Credit: Adam Williams/TBR Football/GRV Media
Now, they are big hitters in the Premier League and will play in Europe for the third season in a row in 2025-26, albeit not in the Champions League, as they had hoped. They have achieved that without breaching PSR – and the rules have, the argument goes, forced the owners to invest sustainably, as opposed to simply throwing money around in the transfer market.
Meanwhile, the likes of Manchester United, who like Villa have spent massively on recruitment and retention but, unlike Villa, have gone backwards in recent years, are now being forced to cut their cloth to get in line with both domestic and European PSR. The rules are dividing the smart clubs from the not-so-smart.
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
PSR is the reason that Edens and Sawiris are investing in Villa Park and have made efforts to scale the club’s commercial income. In turn, that means when the next set of owners come along, the club will likely still be in a position to challenge at the top end of the table. In a pre-PSR era, that might not have been the case.
That said, PSR is an anchor for Villa as it stands. However, a new set of spending rules is on the horizon.
Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris don’t want new squad cost control rule, says Kieran Maguire
In 2024-25, Premier League clubs trialled a new set of spending regulations known as squad cost rules (SCR).
Under this system, clubs are limited to spending 85 per cent of revenue plus profits on player sales on player wages, transfer and agent fees.
Based on the figures in Aston Villa’s last set of accounts in 2023-24, this would have allowed them to spend around £289m. Their actual spend across those categories in that financial year was £348.5m, though their revenue will have increased significantly with Champions League participation.
The trial was on a non-binding basis, meaning clubs would not be penalised if they fell foul of the quota.
Originally, the plan was to introduce SCR in time for 2025-26, but the ongoing arbitration between Manchester City and the Premier League relating to the league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules has forced clubs to vote to delay the new system.
Instead, it is expected that SCR will be introduced in 2026-27, either replacing or working alongside the current profit-and-loss-based rules. But, after a season trialling the quota, how will Villa reflect on the UEFA-style system?
“From what I hear, Aston Villa aren’t hugely in favour of the change to the rules because the rules are designed to protect the interests of the larger clubs,” says University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to TBR Football.
“It’s not a flat wage cap, it’s a wage cap linked to revenue. Aston Villa are expanding commercially and they want to expand the stadium, but they are still very much at the start-up phase of those particular projects. That has a huge knock-on effect under SCR rules in terms of their ability to invest in talent.
“By all accounts, Aston Villa wanted the PSR limit to be raised from £105m to £135m but that got no traction. That is indicative of the way the rules have been drafted.
“There is fiscal drag which very much counts against the nouveau riche as opposed to the established elite. It is restrictive in terms of what you can invest in playing talent even if you have very wealthy owners.”
Premier League looks to close intra-company PSR loophole that Aston Villa want to use
Many Villa fans will rightly point out that there are clubs who, in cash terms, have lost far more money than they have but have somehow managed to remain compliant with PSR.
Chelsea are the most prominent example here. They have used several accounting sleights of hand to comply with Premier League PSR, including the intra-company sales of two hotels at Stamford Bridge, a car park and even the women’s team. Essentially, they bought the asset from themselves and registered an artificial profit for the purposes of PSR without any cash actually changing hands.
Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
Villa were said to be looking at this loophole themselves, though it should be noted that UEFA’s rules do not count intra-company transactions. As a result, Chelsea, like Villa, are expected to fail the European governing body’s test.
But if Villa are planning on playing the intra-company sales card, they better get a move on as The Times have reported today that Premier League clubs are set to vote on whether to retain the loophole at their next shareholder meeting.
It is not a foregone conclusion that clubs would vote in favour of scrapping the lacuna. After all, there are several clubs who have had close shaves with PSR and indeed a handful who might be considering exploiting the loophole themselves.
If the motion is to pass, it will require the support of 14 Premier League teams, so if Villa – and presumably Chelsea – can find five more clubs to side with them, they could block the ban.