Aston Villa are in a position where they may need to sell players to meet the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules and there is plenty of contention surrounding their situation from fans, pundits and journalists alike.
Aston Villa's PSR situation and who may leave the club this summer
In short, Aston Villa are one of the Premier League's most at-risk clubs with PSR heading towards the deadline on June 30th. Per The Athletic's projection, they can only lose £15 million in 2024/25 to remain within regulatory boundaries.
Unai Emery's men have recorded a pre-tax loss of £206.2 million in the last two years, which is the highest deficit across the top-flight in that time and leaves the Birmingham-based outfit in danger of punishment.
Aston Villa - Marcus Rashford
Big money sales such as Jhon Duran leaving for Al Nassr and Leon Bailey's anticipated move to Saudi Arabian outfit Neom SC have left hope that the Villans can evade any form of penalty.
However, they are teetering on the brink and their failure to qualify for Champions League football ended up being a massive setback, especially when Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio's expensive loan deals formed part of their bid to secure a place despite already treading water in their efforts to balance the books.
There have been suggestions that Aston Villa could sell stakes in their women's team to make ends meet, an option that remains active following a failed bill to cancel that practice after Chelsea flipped £90 million in losses to a £128 million profit in 2024.
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He could be on the move.
Losing a maximum of £105 million over three rolling years is the limit for Premier League clubs in order to comply. Still, not everyone is happy at the rules that their clubs have to abide by to evade sanctions.
Journalist fumes at Aston Villa PSR latest
Taking to social media platform X, iNews correspondent Mark Douglas vented his frustration at Aston Villa's need to sell and made the point that Newcastle United have suffered a similar fate in their efforts to progress as a club.
"Things in modern football that I just can't understand: Aston Villa seemingly needing to sell players for PSR reasons. AVFC been a huge success story for last two seasons, have wealthy owners and clear plan to compete. But because of arbitrary number they might have to trade. NUFC progress hamstrung in similar way... while other clubs invest despite failure on the pitch. Madness."
Admittedly, PSR has become a controversial topic among football fans for a number of reasons, with some feeling that the traditional 'Big Six' clubs are protected more than others due to the ease in making 'pure profit' sales or by filing via subsidiaries of their PLC's entity.
premier-league-net-spend-mansour-ratcliffe-boehly
Regulation is critical to promote fairness, though there are clear elements in the current system that leave a lot to be desired. Aston Villa find themselves in a frustrating situation and will need to meticulously ensure they don't fall foul of the authorities.
Others will argue their wage to revenue ratio is a problem, brought on by decisions such as paying £227,500 of Marcus Rashford's salary weekly during his stay. Either way, the rise of PSR over the last few years has become a contentious issue and continues to limit the progression of those attempting to challenge the traditional order.