Aston Villa must spend to stay competitive, but the rules dictating investment have not kept up with inflation meaning they do not have the same opportunities that some of the 'big six' once did.
Only three teams have won more Premier League points than Aston Villa since Unai Emery's arrival
Only three teams have won more Premier League points than Aston Villa since Unai Emery's arrival
(Image: PA)
Aston Villa do not have the same opportunity as some of the Premier League 'big six' did more than a decade ago to realise their owners’ ambitious plans and continue progressing.
It was the 'red cartel' of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United who pushed for a breakaway European Super League just over four years ago, and they were soon joined by Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.
The six clubs involved agreed to make a combined "goodwill" payment of £22m as punishment and were warned that any future attempt at a similar project would result in a £25m fine for each of them and a 30-point deduction.
They didn’t get their Super League, but the rules governing the Premier League - along with UEFA’s controls - essentially give them a free pass to blow other teams out of the water in the market every summer.
Back in 2008, Sheikh Mansour’s wealth propelled City into title contention within three years of his takeover, after Roman Abramovich had already ploughed his money into Chelsea, enabling them to do the same.
Over the 19 years of the Russian's ownership, Chelsea won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups and the Champions League twice. Before Abramovich, the Blues had only won one league title in their entire history.
His enormous wealth turned Chelsea into a powerhouse, generating huge revenue streams as a result of their success on the pitch.
However, suggestions that Chelsea came from nowhere aren't entirely accurate. They had finished fourth in the Premier League and reached the quarter-finals of both domestic cups in the season before Abramovich took control.
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Unlike Chelsea, City were not competitive at the top of English football before their billions arrived. They had won league titles and FA Cups in the past, but after promotion in 2002 managed only three top-half finishes in six seasons before the takeover.
Both clubs spent huge sums to fast-track their rise, while Tottenham attached themselves to the ‘big six’ by being in the right place at the right time as the Premier League established itself as the best and richest league in the world.
Under Harry Redknapp (2009–2012), Spurs consistently finished fourth or fifth - much like Villa under Emery. In fact, since the Spaniard’s arrival at Villa Park two-and-a-half years ago, only City, Liverpool and Arsenal have won more points.
Spurs’ consistency under Redknapp linked them to the ‘big four’, but City’s emergence soon turned it into the ‘big six’.
The 2010–11 season was the first time all six clubs finished in the top six, and they dominated those positions until 2022, the only exception being Leicester City’s miracle title success in 2015/16.
When Leicester won, it was also the only season between 2010 and 2022 that fewer than four ‘big six’ clubs made the Champions League spots.
The Premier League
The Premier League(Image: Getty Images)
The European Super League threatened to shake up English football and UEFA’s competitions. The clubs who pushed for it - at home and abroad - now have too much power given the wealth they’ve built.
It is unfair that, despite what Villa have achieved in a single season or over several, they cannot build on success and are instead penalised for showing ambition.
To compete with clubs who have had over a decade to build huge revenue streams and pay massive wages, a team must also spend. To become the fourth-best team in England for two and a half years, as Villa have been, they must pay wages that attract top talent.
If they didn’t spend, they could never break up the top six season after season. But then again, is that what the Premier League wants? It would appear not.
Of course, it’s not just the Premier League’s financial rules holding Villa back.
In 2022, UEFA rebranded Financial Fair Play, arguing that its name gave a false impression of levelling the playing field. They admitted the rules were not designed to create fairness, but simply to force clubs to live within their means.
The new Football Earnings Rule allows clubs to lose €60m over three years - double the previous limit. The Squad Cost Rule caps spending on wages at 70 per cent of revenue.
In principle, this promotes financial stability. But Villa, a debt-free club, are disadvantaged compared with debt-laden rivals.
In 2024, Man United’s gross debt stood at £547m, while broader measures factoring in transfer obligations pushed it closer to £1bn. Five of the ‘big six’ were in debts - some much more than others - last year.
Yet spending power is tied to revenue, and the ‘big six’ all ranked in Europe’s top 10 in 2024, alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
Revenue at the top is polarised, with a gap of more than €300m between 8th (Tottenham, €615m) and 11th (Borussia Dortmund, €519m). Chelsea sat 10th on €519m.
Back in 2009, the financial landscape looked very different: Schalke and Hamburg featured in the top 20, while City and PSG ranked 22nd and 23rd.
Villa were 19th in 2024 with €322m, nearly half of Spurs’ figure. Their 2025 ranking will rise thanks to £100m earned from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
While consistent Champions League qualification boosts revenue, it is an unrealistic target every season given Villa’s competition.
Despite being fourth in Premier League points since Emery’s arrival, Villa have lost £285m worth of talent in 13 months, including Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby, Jhon Duran and Jacob Ramsey.
Since June 2024, they have recorded a negative net spend of -£75m - even after reaching a European semi-final, finishing fourth, and reaching the Champions League last eight.
Villa narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification last season, partly due to referee Thomas Bramall's error at Old Trafford. Still, Emery will admit their own performance cost them as much as officiating did.
What supporters cannot accept, however, are the rules holding Villa back - while United, despite finishing 15th, spent over £200m, and Tottenham - although qualifying for the Champions League - continue splashing cash despite finishing below Villa for three years in a row.
United’s revenues justify their spending under the rules. But to prevent Villa - a debt-free, responsibly-run club - from spending, makes the system a mockery.
Gianluigi Buffon shows Aston Villa's club card in the Champions League draw
Gianluigi Buffon shows Aston Villa's club card in the Champions League draw(Image: Photo by Claudio Lavenia - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Villa’s wage-to-revenue ratio, once above 90 per cent, has now dropped. In 2024 it stood above 80 but below 90, earning them a €6m fine. Chelsea, with a greater excess, were fined €11m.
This summer Villa trimmed their wage bill significantly and in the last couple of years have moved on high earners like Coutinho, Danny Ings, Bertrand Traoré and Diego Carlos, while Leander Dendoncker is also now on the way out.
The club have also committed to a long-term plan to reduce their wage bill further.
Let’s say Villa won the league this season - their financial position would still be very similar next summer. In 2023/24, Man City earned around £13 million more than fourth-placed Villa in prize money, but of course, access to the Champions League would be a big boost.
As Emery noted in his programme notes: "Financial controls came into football to avoid bankruptcies, but we should review them. This good tool is becoming a limitation for clubs with good management who are never allowed to dream and achieve higher goals."
Damian Vidagany echoed this on TNT Sports. He explained: “Our owners want to spend more, but UEFA has a clear limit. If you don’t comply, you could be kicked out. It is serious. We know this challenge is bigger than anyone else’s.”
Owner Nassef Sawiris was even blunter to the Financial Times last year when he said: "The rules do not make sense and are not good for football. Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or bean counter than looking at what your team needs. It’s about creating paper profits, not real ones. It has become a financial game, not a sporting game."
Captain John McGinn added to BirminghamLive: “You don’t have to be clever to see that if you want to compete with the big boys, the rules are unfair. Our owners want to invest and kick the club on, but they’re not allowed. It’s tough.”
McGinn also reacted to Ramsey’s £39m sale with a pointed social media post: “It seems to be the way football is set up these days!”
The sale of academy players is incentivised since their transfer fee counts as pure profit, while the cost of new signings is amortised across contracts.
It’s another reason to dislike the current state of football: only a handful of clubs - protected by the rules - can make costly mistakes without consequence, while Chelsea and United squander hundreds of millions and Villa are forced to sell, sell, and sell again to avoid becoming too much of a threat to the status quo.
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