Aston Villa risk backlash but Nassef Sawiris and Damian Vidagany have nailed the real problem
Aston Villa’s PSR Struggles Highlight Deep Flaws in Premier League Financial Rules
“To generate revenue, you have to win. To win, you must invest. But you’re not allowed to invest. So if you don’t invest, you don’t win, and the cycle just repeats itself endlessly.”
That stark assessment, made by Aston Villa’s director Damian Vidagany last year, perfectly encapsulates the dilemma facing ambitious Premier League clubs under the current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The Premier League’s financial regulations, originally designed to ensure clubs operated within their means and maintained financial health, have increasingly come under fire for being outdated and counterproductive. Critics argue that the rules are not only stifling ambition but also solidifying a rigid hierarchy where only the established elite thrive—while emerging clubs are held back by regulatory shackles that don’t reflect modern financial realities or inflation trends.
Aston Villa are the most recent example of a club caught in the crossfire between sporting ambition and financial regulation. Since being taken over by V Sports, co-owned by billionaire Nassef Sawiris, Villa have gone from Championship obscurity to competing on the biggest stages in European football. Within just five years, they have re-established themselves as a top-flight force, reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League in 2023, and securing qualification for the Champions League just weeks later.
Under the astute management of Unai Emery, the Midlands side defied expectations once again last season. They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and pushed French giants Paris Saint-Germain to the brink, winning 3-2 in a dramatic second-leg clash at Villa Park. Ultimately, they fell just short, eliminated by a single goal on aggregate.
Back in the Premier League, a controversial 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on the final day of the campaign denied them another Champions League berth. Nevertheless, Villa’s sixth-place finish secured Europa League football for next season—a commendable achievement, especially when one considers the financial constraints they’ve been forced to navigate.
In the past 12 months, Villa have reluctantly parted ways with key players, including Douglas Luiz, Jhon Durán, and Moussa Diaby. These sales have brought in a combined total of around £157 million, yet they were largely driven not by strategic planning but by PSR-imposed necessity. The irony is painful: while Villa grow on and off the pitch, they are being compelled to dismantle parts of their progress each summer to remain compliant with rules that no longer reflect the financial demands of modern football.
Nassef Sawiris, one of the world’s wealthiest football club owners, has openly voiced his frustrations. Speaking to the Financial Times in June 2024, he did not hold back. “Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport,” he said. “The rules do not make sense and are not good for football. Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game.”
Indeed, the Premier League’s stated aim is to “improve and preserve clubs’ financial sustainability and the competitive balance of the Premier League, promote aspiration of clubs… and support clubs’ competitiveness in UEFA competitions.” But Villa, and similarly placed clubs like Newcastle United, would argue that these aims are not being fulfilled in practice.
Despite their ambition, Villa are being restricted by a system that appears to penalise prudent financial management rather than reward it. Astonishingly, as of 2024, Villa were one of just three Premier League clubs with zero debt, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire. The club has remained fiscally responsible under Sawiris and Edens, yet they are forced to curb spending while rivals with massive debt loads—like Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United—face far fewer restrictions.
“We have no debt,” Vidagany reaffirmed last year. “We are a club that is balanced, with committed owners. We don’t owe money to anyone, but clubs with more revenue—but huge debts—can spend much more than us. Where is the sense in that?”
He continued: “Many clubs borrow money. We don’t have this problem, but we still can’t spend. The system is perverse because it doesn’t matter how committed your owners are, how wealthy they are, or how good your accounts are. You are not allowed to grow because you don’t have more revenues.”
Faced with a second consecutive failure to qualify for the Champions League and the growing need to generate fresh income, Villa are now exploring controversial options—such as selling a stake in their women’s team. This mirrors Chelsea’s recent move to transfer ownership of their women’s side to a sister company for nearly £199 million. Although this transaction has drawn public criticism and awaits Premier League approval as to whether it constitutes “fair market value,” it highlights the extreme measures clubs are being forced to consider just to compete financially.
Should Villa pursue a similar course, they too could face a backlash. But the real issue lies deeper. The PSR regulations do not encourage fair competition, nor do they provide a level playing field. Instead, they seem to reinforce the dominance of the traditional ‘big six’—clubs whose larger fanbases and commercial appeal allow them to generate far more revenue and thus spend with impunity.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur both endured disappointing league campaigns in 2024–25. Yet, due to their overwhelming commercial power, neither club has to fear financial instability or long-term decline. United continue to spend heavily in the market, and Spurs, thanks to Daniel Levy’s financial foresight, are well-positioned to thrive under PSR’s constraints for years to come.
Meanwhile, clubs like Aston Villa—whose rise threatens to disrupt the established order—are finding themselves punished for succeeding. Villa’s attempts to challenge the dominance of the elite are being curtailed by regulations that give priority to “revenue” over “responsibility,” and “legacy” over “ambition.”
Let’s not forget: many of the so-called big six were the same clubs that tried to form a breakaway Super League in 2021, attempting to abandon the very competition that now continues to protect their status. And now, as clubs like Villa seek to grow sustainably, they are being tripped up by the very system that should be helping them to thrive.
Unless there is reform—real reform—then upward mobility in English football will remain a fantasy for all but the most fortunate few. As things stand, the dream of truly fair competition in the Premier League seems as distant as ever.