Aston Villa are considering selling the women's soccer team.
Global media The Athletic reported on the 26th (Korea time) "Aston Villa are reportedly considering the possibility of selling a women's soccer team to comply with the English Premier League's (EPL) Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR)."
Villa have been exploring the possibility of selling the women's team for the past 18 months. This is because it is on the verge of violating PSR with a loss of 195 million pounds (about 360 billion won) over the past two years.
Earlier, Chelsea balanced their finances in a similar way. Chelsea made a profit of about £200 million (about 370 billion won) by selling the women's team to the club's parent company, which was the starting point for other Premier League clubs to consider a similar strategy.
There is a good chance Villa will set a bad precedent, similar to Chelsea. It remains to be seen how it will be done.
In practice, it is still unclear whether to sell the women's team to outside investors or opt for the club's own transition structure. However, discussions are ongoing and the possible revenue could go a long way in avoiding future PSR violations.
The Villa men's team has been in the top seven of the Premier League for the last three consecutive seasons under Unai Emery, and lost £85.4 million (about 158 billion won) in the 2023-2024 season. In the 2022-2023 season, losses amounted to 119.6 million pounds (about 220 billion won).
Villa recorded a profit of 300,000 pounds (about 500 million won) in the 2021-2022 season, but the accumulated losses in the last three seasons exceeded the PSR violation standard.
However, even if they meet the standards by selling the women's team, they may not meet the PSR. As to whether this kind of trick is appropriate, the Premier League has yet to give final approval. Chelsea may be subject to UEFA sanctions because UEFA does not acknowledge the use of the proceeds from the sale to offset losses.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa are set to play in the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League. This is the result of finishing sixth in the Premier League last season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
