UEFA has officially announced that Aston Villa have recorded a projected pre-tax loss of £82 million (€94 million) in their 2024/25 season financial report submitted to the governing body.
This marks the third consecutive year of losses for Villa, who previously posted a pre-tax loss of £120.3 million in the 2022/23 season and £85.9 million in the 2023/24 season, taking the club’s total losses over the three-year period to nearly £290 million.
According to UEFA’s latest European Club Football Finance and Investment Landscape Report, released on Thursday, Villa’s losses for the 2024/25 season are set to exceed £80 million.
The report highlights that UEFA has made adjustments to Villa’s loss figure, including approximately €113 million in "non-recurring profits from the sale of assets". Last summer, to avoid the threat of breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), Villa sold their women’s team to the club’s ownership group V Sports, while a US investment firm also acquired a stake in the club.
Another scheme to boost profits through asset-based revenue growth is "The Warehouse", a new multi-purpose venue adjacent to Villa Park, which is scheduled to be fully operational this season.
Unlike the Premier League, UEFA’s regulations prohibit clubs from recording such asset sales – such as the sale of the women’s team to V Sports – in their financial statements. The final profit figure shown in Villa’s accounts and PSR calculations will be the pre-tax profit, with the £113 million in sale proceeds added back in.
In other words, after deducting these one-off sale proceeds, Villa are projecting a profit of £31 million, bringing their losses below the maximum loss threshold permitted under the Premier League’s PSR rules.
Villa are permitted a maximum pre-tax loss of £15 million for the 2024/25 season to avoid breaching domestic PSR regulations.
The figures submitted to European football’s governing body will differ from those to be disclosed in Villa’s year-end financial statements, which are due to be filed at the end of March.
Compliance with PSR regulations has been an ongoing challenge during Unai Emery’s tenure at the club, with the team’s on-pitch success bringing additional complications. Last summer, Villa struggled to comply with UEFA’s Squad Cost Rule (SCR), a core component of the Financial Equity Regulations (FER), which dictates that "wages, transfer fees and agent fees for players and coaching staff" must not exceed 70% of a club’s revenue from the 2025/26 season onwards.
Villa are expected to face sanctions for failing to meet the 70% budget compliance threshold. The club was previously fined €11 million the prior year for breaching UEFA’s financial regulations.
Villa are required to submit their squad cost information for the 12-month period ending 31 December 2025 by 17 March.
Crucially, Villa reached a settlement agreement with UEFA last summer over their breach of the rules, meaning this significant loss will not be included in future FER submissions. Villa are subject to a maximum allowable loss on football-related revenue of €5 million for the 2025/26 season – a target that is already difficult to achieve given the club has no Champions League revenue to rely on, alongside its high operating costs.
Aston Villa have posted heavy losses consistently over the past decade, making growth across all three revenue streams, as well as Champions League income, a critical priority.
Villa have seen their revenue grow by 38.42% since the onset of the pandemic, the highest increase of any Premier League club. However, the club has acknowledged internally that its current spending outstrips its income, which is itself heavily reliant on Champions League qualification and broadcast revenue.
The club has admitted it has had to implement corresponding spending cuts recently. Last summer, Villa recorded the lowest net spend (£31 million) of any Premier League club. Broadcast revenue accounted for 63.7% of the club’s total revenue in the 2024/25 season, meaning a significant drop in broadcast income is expected this season following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Senior figures, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Camel Live last year that failure to qualify for the Champions League left a £70 million hole in the club’s accounts.
Aston Villa currently sit third in the Premier League and are on track to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. Selling high-value first-team players before 30 June, the end of the reporting period, is one avenue available to Villa to meet their financial targets.
