Chelsea and Aston Villa could struggle to comply with UEFA’s financial rules if both clubs qualify for European competition next season.
Aston Villa are already assured of a place in Europe with Unai Emery’s team guaranteed to finish inside the Premier League’s top five. Villa will secure Champions League football for the first time if they beat Liverpool on Monday night, or if Spurs fail to win against Burnley this weekend.
However, Villa could be at risk of breaching UEFA’s financial rules, according to The Times, which are much stricter than the Premier League’s £105m permitted loss over a rolling three-year period.
Under the new “football earnings” rule which has replaced the financial fair play system, clubs in Europe next season will be allowed to have lost a maximum of €40million (£34.4million) over the previous two campaigns. Villa, who have insisted the club are compliant with the Premier League rules, posted a loss of £119.6million after tax in the year ending May 31, 2023.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have moved into contention for European qualification after a turbulent season under Mauricio Pochettino.
The West Londoners made a loss of £89.8m last season, while there is also uncertainty surrounding the £76.5m claimed for selling two hotels to a sister company. The Premier League is still to approve that deal, 10 months after its completion.
Should either team be deemed guilty of breaching financial rules, they could be excluded from Europe next season. Juventus were excluded from European competition this season for financial rule breaches.