5 hours ago
1
Chelsea, Aston Villa and Barcelona have been fined by Uefa for breaking financial rules. Chelsea have been hit with an unconditional €31m (£27m) bill but could face a further €60m (£52m) fine if they do not comply moving forward. Barcelona and Villa have been fined €15m (£13m) and €11m (£9.5m) respectively but are also at risk of further conditional penalties.
The conditional fines for Chelsea (€60m), Villa (€15m) and Barcelona (€45m) relate to agreed plans across four-year, three-year and two-year periods respectively.
Chelsea and Villa breached Uefa’s football earnings and squad-cost rules (SCR), the latter of which limits clubs operating in European competition to spending 80% of their revenue on player costs. Villa face being fined €5m for every year they breach financial rules. A new three-year cycle commenced in 2024-25.
Villa are confident they can absorb the fine and strengthen Unai Emery’s squad this summer while agreeing to move in line with SCR. Villa and Uefa are understood to have agreed a “glidepath” to meet their targets. Villa, who are also confident of avoiding a possible points deduction from the Premier League after moving to sell their women’s team to comply with financial rules, are adamant they do not need to sell key players.
How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The future of Emiliano Martínez, however, is uncertain, and while Villa are yet to receive a bid for the Argentina goalkeeper, they are braced for further interest in the 32-year-old, who is under contract until 2029. Chelsea, Manchester United and Atlético Madrid, are thought to hold an interest in the World Cup-winner.
Reducing the wage bill is a priority for Villa. On Friday the club confirmed they have terminated the contract of Philippe Coutinho, who has signed permanently for Vasco de Gama, his boyhood club. Villa want to trim the squad and offload fringe players, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden joining Coventry in a £3.5m deal and Emiliano Buendia, Louie Barry and Alex Moreno also poised to depart.
Lyon (€12.5m), Besiktas (€900,000) Panathinaikos (€400,000) and Hajduk Split (€300,000) have also been sanctioned by Uefa.
