Aston Villa Financial Update: Season 2025/26
- Matchday Finance
- 2 days ago
- 14 min read
This report examines Aston Villa's 2025/26 season from a financial perspective. Although the club's official financial results will not be published until March/April 2027, the key drivers of revenue, costs and funding are already visible, allowing us to build a reasonable estimate of Aston Villa financial position at the end of the season.
The analysis is based on publicly available information and our own estimates. As such, it should be viewed as an informed assessment rather than a definitive set of financial results.
Another outstanding season saw Aston Villa finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. The crowning achievement, however, was their Europa League triumph, defeating Freiburg 3–0 in the final to secure the club's first major trophy in 30 years.
The campaign was further confirmation of Villa's resurgence under Unai Emery, firmly re-establishing the club as one of the leading forces in English football.
Aston Villa's resurgence began when Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and American investor Wesley Edens acquired the club in 2018. At the time, Villa were languishing in mid-table in the Championship following several years of decline. Promotion followed in 2018/19, and after establishing themselves in the Premier League, the club has emerged as a regular contender for European qualification.
This transformation has come at a significant financial cost. Since 2018, Villa's owners have invested approximately £700 million—an average of almost £100 million per year.
In 2024, the club's parent company, V Sports, sold a minority stake of around 21% to US private equity firm Atairos, while Sawiris and Edens retained control. Atairos increased its holding to 31.1% in 2025, leaving Sawiris and Edens with equal 34.4% stakes.
The club has incurred substantial losses in recent seasons, including deficits of £120 million in 2022/23 and £85 million in 2023/24, leaving it at risk of breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
In season 2024/25 (the club's latest published accounts), Villa relied on intra-group asset sales to reduce reported losses. The club sold its women's team to V Sports, generating a profit of £78 million, while Aston Villa Venue Company Limited (which manages The Warehouse fan-zone), was also sold to the parent company, resulting in a further £36 million profit. Together, these transactions transformed what would otherwise have been a £96 million loss into a reported profit of £17 million.
Financial Estimate 2025/26
We expect Aston Villa's total revenue to decline slightly in 2025/26, with lower UEFA prize money following participation in the UEFA Europa League rather than the UEFA Champions League broadly offset by higher Premier League central distributions and continued growth in commercial revenue. We expect operating costs to remain broadly in line with the previous year, although player amortisation should fall through limited transfer activity.
Overall, we project a pre-tax loss of around £100 million. Despite this, the club should remain compliant with the Premier League's current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), largely due to the £114 million gain recognised on asset sales in 2024/25.
The more significant challenge lies with UEFA. Aston Villa is currently subject to a settlement agreement covering the 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27 monitoring periods. Based on our estimates, the club should remain within the permitted adjusted loss of €60 million for the 2025/26 monitoring period. However, the final year of the settlement will be more demanding, as compliance is assessed over the combined three-year period, with adjusted losses again limited to €60 million. On our projections, Aston Villa would need to achieve an accounting break-even position to remain within this threshold. In practical terms, this is likely to require significant profits from player trading combined again with limited transfer spending in 2026/27.
Achieving this, and maintaining on-pitch performance, may prove challenging given the profile of the current squad. Based on Premier League minutes played, Aston Villa has the joint-oldest squad in the division, with an average age of 28.
A material breach of the settlement terms—specifically an excess of more than €20 million above the agreed limit—would result in exclusion from the club's next eligible UEFA competition.
We estimate that additional funding requirements for 2025/26 will be relatively modest at around £16 million, assuming the outstanding intercompany balance arising from the 2024/25 asset sale is settled.
Looking beyond 2025/26, funding requirements will increase again as the club undertakes the major redevelopment of Villa Park, increasing its capacity to around 50,000. In the longer term, this investment should reduce its reliance on player sales and helping to break the cycle of investing heavily to improve on-pitch performance while remaining constrained by UEFA's financial regulations.
Turnover
Overall, we estimate Aston Villa's turnover will decline slightly to approximately £370 million in 2025/26, compared with £378 million in the previous season.
This would make Aston Villa the eighth-highest revenue-generating club in the Premier League, behind the traditional "Big Six" and Newcastle United.
Broadcast
The 2025/26 season marks the beginning of a new Premier League domestic and international media rights cycle, with total distributions to clubs expected to increase by around £320 million to almost £3.9 billion, driven primarily by growth in international broadcasting revenues.
Approximately 63% of these distributions are shared equally among clubs, equating to around £100 million per club. However, much of the incremental income generated under the new cycle has been directed towards merit payments, increasing the financial importance of league position.
As a result, we estimate Villa's fourth-place finish will generate approximately £183 million in Premier League distributions, comprising around £100 million from equal share payments, £64 million in merit payments and £19 million in facility fees, reflecting their 34 live televised matches during the season. This is a £23 million increase from the 6th place 2024/25 season.
Villa competed in the Champions League in 2024/25, where reaching the quarter-finals earned the club approximately £70 million in prize money. Although they won the Europa League in 2025/26, the competition offers significantly lower financial rewards, with their triumph expected to generate prize money of around £35.8 million.
As a result, we estimate total broadcast revenue will decline by approximately £12.4 million to £228.5 million.
Matchday Income
Participation in European competition has a significant impact on matchday revenue by creating additional high-value home fixtures. Following their Europa League triumph in 2025/26, Villa played seven home matches in European competition—one more than the previous season. Average Premier League attendance remained largely unchanged at 41,969, however early exits in the domestic cup competitions, where gate receipts are shared, reduced the total number of paying supporters to around 1.1 million (from 1.2 million the previous seasons).
The club also implemented a 5% increase in season ticket prices. We estimate, however, that this was broadly offset by a lower proportion of high-value European fixtures, as Europa League matches typically generate less revenue than Champions League ties. As a result, average revenue per paying fan is estimated to remain broadly unchanged at around £32.50.
On this basis, we estimate matchday revenue will decline slightly from £38.4 million to £35.8 million. Despite the decrease, this would still rank Aston Villa ninth in the Premier League, although it remains well below the division's largest clubs, which each generate more than £120 million of matchday revenue.
The club has now commenced the redevelopment of the North Stand, a project that will increase Villa Park's capacity to approximately 50,000 upon completion. During the 2026/27 season, the stand will be closed, temporarily reducing the stadium's capacity from around 42,000 to approximately 37,000.
This temporary reduction is expected to reduce matchday by around £2.5 million during the coming season
Commercial Income
In 2025/26, Aston Villa's principal commercial partnerships included a front-of-shirt sponsorship agreement with betting company Betano and a kit supply deal with Adidas, both of which were signed ahead of the 2024/25 season. The club also entered into a new partnership with Red Bull during 2025/26 and, on that basis, we estimate sponsorship revenue will increase modestly to around £30 million, up from £28.6 million in the previous season.
Villa have invested heavily in The Warehouse, a new fan zone and year-round entertainment venue designed to diversify and grow commercial income beyond matchdays. The venue is now fully operational and should support higher long-term revenues.
However, as part of the club's financial reorganisation, the operating rights to The Warehouse were sold to another entity within the ownership group. As a result, it is unclear how much of the venue's income will be recognised within the football group's accounts (NSWE Sports Limited). While this may reduce the commercial revenue reported by the football group, it is possible that licensing or management fee arrangements will offset some of this impact. At this stage, the accounting treatment is uncertain.
For the purposes of our estimates, we assume non-sponsorship commercial revenue will increase from £70 million to approximately £75 million. Combined with higher sponsorship income, this would lift total commercial revenue to an estimated £105 million, up from £99 million in the previous season.
On this basis, Aston Villa would likely generate the eighth-highest commercial revenue in the Premier League. However, this remains well behind the division's largest clubs, which each generate more than £300 million in commercial income.
Squad and Staff Costs
Our estimates suggest that total staff and squad-related costs are projected to decline to around £364 million, down from £379 million, comprising salaries and wages of around £276 million and player amortisation of approximately £88 million. Profits from player sales are expected to be around £42 million.
Transfer Activity and Squad Composition
Following the club's breach of UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations in 2024, specifically the Football Earnings rule, the club is prohibited from registering new players on its UEFA 'A' List unless the cost of those registrations is fully offset by transfer income generated from departing players. The UEFA 'A' List is limited to a maximum of 25 players and is also subject to homegrown player requirements. This restriction applies unconditionally during the 2025/26 season.
In practical terms, Villa could not significantly strengthen their Champions League or Europa League squad without first generating equivalent transfer income. These sanctions undoubtedly constrained the club's transfer activity during 2025/26.
As a results the club's permanent arrivals were relatively modest, with Evann Guessand, Tammy Abraham and Brazilian winger Alysson joining, while goalkeeper Maro Bizot and experienced defender Victor Lindelöf arrived on free transfers. To add further squad depth without transfer expenditure, Villa also utilised the loan market, bringing in Jadon Sancho, Douglas Luiz (returning to the club) and Harvey Elliott.
Academy graduate Jacob Ramsey was the club's most significant departure, joining Newcastle United for a reported £39 million. As a homegrown player, the vast majority of the transfer fee will be recognised as profit on player sales. Two players who spent much of the season on loan—Donyell Malen and Enzo Barrenechea—were also sold close to the end of the financial year. For the purposes of our estimates, we assume both transactions fall within the 2025/26 reporting period. While the timing of Malen's transfer appears clear, the accounting treatment of Barrenechea's sale is less certain.
The club also allowed several players to leave on free transfers, including Philippe Coutinho, Leander Dendoncker and Álex Moreno, all of whom had originally been acquired for significant transfer fees.
With limited transfer activity during 2025/26—new signings accounted for just 13% of total first-team minutes—the club relied heavily on its existing squad. That group performed exceptionally, delivering a fourth-place Premier League finish and Europa League success, although is now the joint oldest squad (based on Premier League minutes) with an average of 28 years of age
From a financial perspective, the restrained investment in new players is expected to result in a modest decline in the squad's net book value and, based on valuations from Transfermarkt and other sources, a slight reduction in its overall market value. We estimate the squad's market value at approximately £500 million, and net book value of around £201 million. While market valuations are inherently subjective, they provide a useful indication of the club's ability to generate profits from future player sales if required.
It is no surprise that Morgan Rogers is regarded as the club's most valuable player. Transfermarkt values him at around £75 million, although recent reports suggest Aston Villa would demand closer to £120 million for his transfer. He is followed by Amadou Onana, Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara among the squad's highest-valued players.
Staff Costs
UEFA's squad cost restrictions are likely to have limited any significant increase in the wage bill, while the club's relatively modest transfer activity and the departure of several potentially high-earning players will have helped contain costs. These savings are likely to have been offset by bonuses for winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League, together with the cost of several loan signings. Overall, we estimate total salaries and wage costs will increase modestly to around £276 million.
Player amortisation is more predictable. With relatively few permanent acquisitions during the season, we estimate amortisation will fall to approximately £88 million, down from £100 million in the previous year.
Taken together, we estimate total staff and player-related costs of around £364 million. Based on Premier League clubs' 2024/25 financial results, this would rank Aston Villa seventh in the league by personnel expenditure.
Profit from Player Sales
As noted, Aston Villa's most significant player sale was academy graduate Jacob Ramsey, who joined Newcastle United for a reported fee of around £40 million. As a homegrown player, the vast majority of the transfer fee will be recognised as profit on disposal.
If the sales of Donyell Malen and Enzo Barrenechea are recognised within the 2025/26 financial year, as we expect, they should generate a combined profit of around £8 million.
These gains are likely to be partially offset by accounting losses on certain free transfers, most notably Philippe Coutinho, who may have carried a residual book value. On that basis, we estimate profit on player sales for 2025/26 will be approximately £42 million.
Profitability and Compliance
In summary, we estimate that Aston Villa's revenue will decline to around £370 million. Salaries and wages are projected to increase to approximately £278 million, while operating expenses are assumed to remain broadly stable at £128 million. Although the sale of the operating rights to The Warehouse in the previous year may reduce certain costs, we have assumed these savings will be broadly offset by general cost inflation.
On this basis, EBITDA is projected to be negative £34 million, with total operating expenses once again exceeding turnover, a trend that has persisted for several seasons.
This remains one of Aston Villa's key financial challenges compared with the Premier League's largest clubs, many of which consistently generate EBITDA in excess of £100 million. Strong underlying cash generation reduces their reliance on player trading to remain compliant with financial regulations, whereas clubs such as Villa are under greater pressure to realise profits from player sales.
Among the non-cash expenses, player amortisation is projected to fall to around £88 million as earlier transfer spending becomes more fully amortised, while depreciation is expected to increase slightly following approximately £70 million of capital investment in the previous year. As a result, operating losses are forecast to remain broadly unchanged at around £134 million.
We estimate that profits on player sales will contribute approximately £42 million, partially offsetting these operating losses. However, with no significant asset disposals assumed, we project an overall pre-tax loss of around £101 million. This compares with the reported £17 million profit in the previous year, which was largely driven by a one-off £114 million gain from asset sales rather than improvements in the club's underlying trading performance.
Regulatory and Compliance
The 2025/26 season is the final year assessed under the current Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) framework. Based on our estimates, Aston Villa face no PSR concerns.
Based on our projected profit and loss range, the club is expected to record aggregate pre-adjustment losses of approximately £170 million over the three-year monitoring period. Adjustments—comprising investment in the women's team, academy, community programmes and infrastructure—to total around £136 million across the three years. It should also be noted that no allowance has been made for the Womens Team for 2025/26 as it was sold to a related entity.
Based on these assumptions, Aston Villa would generate a cumulative adjusted loss of approximately £34 million over the three-year period, comfortably within the permitted loss threshold of £105 million. Note without the £114 million profit recorded in 2024/25 for the asset sales, the club would have breached the PSR limits.
UEFA Football Earnings Rule
As noted, Aston Villa is currently subject to a three-year UEFA settlement agreement covering the 2025/26 to 2027/28 monitoring periods after breaching UEFA's Football Earnings Rule. The settlement includes a €20 million financial penalty, of which €5 million is unconditional, with the remaining €15 million contingent on the club meeting agreed financial targets over the three-year period. The breach also triggered the 'A' List squad restrictions discussed earlier.
The agreement provides transitional relief for the first two monitoring periods (2024/25 and 2025/26), during which Aston Villa is permitted to record adjusted losses of up to €60 million in each season, provided those losses are fully covered by equity contributions.
However, from the 2026/27 monitoring period, the club reverts to the standard Football Earnings Rule, under which adjusted losses are limited to €60 million across the combined three-year period.
Failure to meet the agreed targets will result in additional financial penalties of up to €5 million per monitoring period, with the fine increasing in line with the level of overspend up to a maximum deviation of €20 million. If the club exceeds its permitted losses by more than €20 million in any monitoring period, it will be excluded from the next applicable UEFA club competition.
Based on our estimates, Aston Villa should be broadly in line with the 2025/26 target, with an adjusted loss of approximately €60 million. The real challenge comes in 2026/27, when compliance will be assessed over the full three-year cycle. On our projections, the club would need to achieve an accounting break-even position before UEFA's permitted adjustments in order to remain within the cumulative €60 million limit.
Although qualification for the UEFA Champions League will significantly improve the club's financial position it is unlikely to be sufficient on its own. Based on our estimates, Aston Villa would still need to generate substantial profits from player sales to remain compliant.
UEFA Squad Cost Ratio
Aston Villa had also breached UEFA's Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) regulations. The SCR is assessed on a calendar-year basis and measures squad costs as a percentage of relevant football revenue which includes a three year average profit from player sales
The club was fined €5 million for breaching the 80% limit in the 2024 monitoring period. It then exceeded the reduced 70% threshold in 2025, resulting in a further €7.5 million fine, with an additional €15 million suspended on the condition that the club reduces its ratio during 2026.
As UEFA assesses compliance on a calendar-year basis, and detailed player wage costs are not publicly disclosed, it is not possible to calculate the ratio precisely. However, based on our estimates, Aston Villa's Squad Cost Ratio is currently around 72%. While this remains marginally above UEFA's 70% limit, it represents an improvement on previous years and suggests the club is moving in the right direction, an important consideration under the terms of its settlement agreement.
Cash Flow and Debt
As noted previously, Aston Villa's transformation has come at a significant financial cost. Since acquiring the club, the owners have invested more than £750 million, including approximately £450 million over the past three seasons. The vast majority of this funding has been provided through equity injections with the club only recently beginning to utilise external debt financing.
To date, this funding has primarily been used to cover operating losses (approximately 20%), player acquisitions (around 60%) and investment in infrastructure and facilities (around 20%).
Cash Flow
The level of funding required during 2025/26 will depend on several key factors. These include whether the intercompany receivable relating to the previous year's asset sales is settled, the payment terms agreed on 2025/26 player transfers, and the amount invested in the ongoing redevelopment of Villa Park during the financial year.
What is known from the latest accounts is that approximately £108 million was payable to other clubs in respect of previous player acquisitions, while around £33 million was receivable from other clubs for player sales.
For our projections, we assume the intercompany balance is settled, around 50% of transfer fees relating to 2025/26 player acquisitions are deferred under normal payment terms, and approximately £40 million is invested in stadium and other infrastructure projects. Based on these assumptions, we estimate the club will require additional funding of around £16 million during the year.
This estimate should, however, be treated as indicative. Actual funding requirements are highly sensitive to the timing of cash receipts and payments, particularly the settlement of transfer fees, capital expenditure, and the timing of revenue and operating cash flows.
Football Net Debt
Assuming the above projections are broadly accurate, total borrowings would increase marginally to around £163 million, although this should again be viewed as indicative, as the club may still seek additional financing to support future investment or restructure existing loan facilities.
Transfer liabilities are likely to be a net receivable after the low level of player acquisitions in 2025/26.
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