UEFA hits Chelsea and Villa with big fines for spending

Chelsea have been fined almost €31m and Aston Villa €11m for breaching UEFA's financial sustainability regulations, European football’s governing body has announced.

The Blues have been hit with a €20m penalty for failing to comply with UEFA’s football earnings rule, with a further €60m payable if they do not achieve compliance inside the next four years, and have agreed to "a restriction on the registration of new players on their list A for UEFA club competitions".

They have also been fined €11m for reporting a squad cost ratio – largely the proportion of their income paid out in wages – in excess of 80%.

A Chelsea spokesperson said: "Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break-even deficit reported by the club under UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

"The club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the club’s squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80% and 90%.

"The club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the club is on a strong upwards trajectory.

"Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement."

Villa have been ordered to pay €5m, with a further €15m conditional on compliance in a three-year period, and €6m for the same two offences, with the penalties reflecting the severity of the breaches.

The midlands club has also agreed a similar restriction on player registrations.

Both clubs have entered into settlement agreements with UEFA and, should they breach them, have agreed to one-year bans from the next UEFA club competition they qualify for in the following three seasons.

Aston Villa have been contacted for comment.

The punishments have been handed down by the first chamber of UEFA’s club financial control body (CFCB) following an analysis of the 2023 and 2024 financial years.

Referring to the implementation of the football earnings rule, the CFCB said in a statement: "In assessing the clubs’ compliance with the football earnings rule, the CFCB placed particular attention on transactions involving the sale of tangible or intangible assets, the exchange of players (so called 'swaps’) and the transfers of players between related parties.

"Clubs were required to perform adjustments, as profits from such transactions cannot be recognised as relevant income according to the UEFA club licensing and financial sustainability regulations – edition 2024."

Both Chelsea and Villa have hit the headlines in recent months for selling their women’s teams to their respective parent companies in an effort to negotiate spending restrictions.

UEFA said the two clubs reported a squad cost ratio "between 80% and 90%". The limit from 2025 will be 70%.

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