UEFA are set to hand fines to both Chelsea and Aston Villa after the two Premier League clubs breached the European football governing body's stringent financial rules
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Unai Emery manger / head coach of Aston Villa and Enzo Maresca manager / head coach of Chelsea interact after the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Chelsea FC at Villa Park on February 22, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Chelsea and Aston Villa are expected to be punished(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Chelsea and Aston Villa are both set to receive penalties for breaching UEFA's financial rules - but La Liga giants Barcelona are facing tougher sanctions. The pair of Premier League clubs are expected to be fined by European football's governing body over first-time breaches.
Chelsea are said to have exceeded UEFA's limits on financial losses for last season, as they wouldn't allow the Blues to declare the income which came selling their women's team. It was sold to sister company Blueco 22 Midco Limited for a world-record £200million in a move which raised eyebrows.
Unlike the Premier League, however, UEFA's don't let clubs to declare income from selling assets to sister companies. Chelsea said in April that they'd 'entered into discussions regarding mitigating factors affecting their regulatory submissions'.
Villa, too, are understood to have breached the limits, according to the Times. UEFA allows teams to lose a maximum of €200m (£170m) over a three-year period. Deductions can be made by the club for spending on youth and women's teams as well as on their stadium and facilities.
Last year, Villa were fined £52,000 submitting their accounts late. It serves as another blow after Unai Emery's side narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League.
Barcelona appear to be in deeper trouble, though. Back in October, the newly-crowned champions of Spain lost an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a €500,000 (£420,000) fine from UEFA which was due to wrongly reporting profits. The panel concluded that the sanction was 'actually relatively mild'.
The CAS ruling also revealed a warning that Barca are facing 'harsher' sanctions for another breach. "The CFCB... highlights that a similar breach by the club in the 2023-24 monitoring process would constitute a case of recidivism and would be addressed by the imposition of a harsher disciplinary measure on FC Barcelona," the ruling stated.
Should there be greater punishments for breaking financial rules? Have your say in the comments section.
FC Barcelona players celebrate the La Liga EA Sports 2024/2025 championship during the La Liga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF at Olimpic Llus Companys in Barcelona, Spain, on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Barcelona could be given a points deduction by UEFA
Barcelona's punishments could include a reduced limit on the number of players they can register for next season's Champions League or even a points deduction. Their financial issues are well documented, although sporting director Deco insists that won't have to sell any of their key players in the summer transfer window.
"I knew it would be difficult when I joined with the financial rules - it is not a financial problem, but the financial fair play rules in Spain are more difficult than the Premier League and in other countries," Deco told BBC Sport.
"It is a problem for a lot of clubs, you just hear about Barca because we are a big club. You need to work with it, see how you can improve the team and the combination of La Masia [their academy] players and experienced players has been important."
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