Much has been made of Aston Villa trying to remain within the confines of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Per The Athletic, Villa announced a £119.6million loss in their end-of-year accounts despite returning to European competition this season.
Despite increased gate receipts and commercial revenue, the club still posted a significant loss. Aston Villa are now third in the all-time Premier League list, having made a loss of £591million since its inception in 1992.
With Everton and Nottingham Forest under the spotlight, surely keeping in the authority’s good books should be at the forefront of the Villa Park decision-makers’ minds.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Aston Villa make Premier League blunder
The Daily Mail reports that Premier League clubs have rejected a £900million financial settlement for the EFL.
The Mail has even gone as far as to name the clubs who have opposed the deal, and unfortunately, Villa’s name has appeared.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham, Villa, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have all supported canning the deal.
Furthermore, there have even been suggestions of legal action should the government try to force them to pay.
Insiders have disclosed that the prospect of a business being forced to pay a rival company in the same industry is “unpalatable”.
Not a good look for Aston Villa
This isn’t a good look for Villa, particularly with several Premier League clubs under the microscope.
It’s important to remember that the EFL is the beating heart of the English football pyramid. Without the Championship, League One and League Two, Villa wouldn’t be where they are right now.
Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash are just three names forged in the lower divisions. Agreeing to this deal would have demonstrated to the authorities that the club operates with a long-term vision. Now, it appears they’re trying to save every penny, which has been compounded by potential legal action.
Former Villa player Stan Collymore has also hit out at the news.
He said: “Utter disgrace from the 10 clubs,” he wrote on X. This feels like an opportunity that has been unfortunately missed. Only time will tell whether it was indeed the wrong decision.
