Aston Villa have now been told exactly why qualifying for the Champions League would be a ‘real game changer’.
Aston Villa’s dreams of qualifying for the Champions League have been made a real possibility.
The Villans are three points above fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur after 21 matches and are using the transfer window as an opportunity to invest.
Much like most teams in the division, Villa are being mindful of how much they spend after watching Everton get a 10-point deduction for breaching PSR.
Unai Emery has still managed to bring in right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic for around £6.5 million and has placed Middlesborough attacker Morgan Rogers at the top of his list of targets.
Villa, by all means, haven’t been as a quiet as some clubs in this transfer window, but if FFP wasn’t an issue, they would have likely flexed their financial muscles more.
Emery has been told he has to sell a few of his players before he can invest in his playing squad.
There are several who the Spaniard is willing to offload and one of those is midfielder Leander Dendoncker.
The Belgian is on the verge of joining Serie A title winners Napoli on a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer for £7.6 million.
Although Villa face needing to sell some of their assets, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed that qualifying for the Champions League would give them extra leverage with FFP.
Why qualifying for the Champions League is a ‘real game changer’ for Aston Villa
While Emery’s side are currently competing to win the Europa Conference League, Maguire has revealed on the UTV Podcast that qualifying for the Champions League would bring much greater financial gain.
“Champions League is a real game changer,” said Maguire. “Villa are in Europe this season and the Europa Conference is great if you’re a fan, you’re going to these different places. You’re not going to make any money realistically unless you get to the semi final.”
He went on to explain what the financial benefits of qualifying for Europe’s elite competition compared to the Conference League.
He said: “In the Champions League you’re probably kicking off with a minimum of 30 million pound in the bank and you make progress, you get 2.5 million pounds for a victory, whereas you get a tenth of that in the conference and you will have bonuses from sponsors.”
Aston Villa need to qualify for the Champions League
Aside from being able to come up against the best teams on the planet, finishing in the top four is imperative for other reasons.
The club would bring in more revenue from sponsorships, shirt sales, tickets and that’s without being able to attract the best players on the planet.
It’s no secret that the worlds best players want to be playing in Europe’s greatest competition and Villa would be able to attract several by qualifying for the Champions League.
Not only that, but receiving £30 million from the get-go as well as £2.5 million for every victory would give the club extra financial leverage to work with.
This would, therefore, provide them with extra financial security in the transfer market while navigating past FFP.
