Chelsea and Aston Villa hit with hefty fines for breaching Uefa FFP rules

Chelsea and Aston Villa have been handed huge fines by Uefa for breaching financial rules – and have been warned they face bans from future competitions if they do not comply.

Chelsea were fined €31m, a figure that could rise to €91m if they do not sort out their finances within the next four years.

Villa were issued with an €11m fine, which could increase to €31m if they fail to sufficiently arrange their finances to ensure compliance with Uefa’s regulations.  

It is likely that both clubs will face restrictions on the amount of players they can register for Uefa competitions.

Uefa stated that the “clubs agreed to reach intermediate annual targets, and to the application of conditional financial and sporting measures should these targets not be met [i.e. stricter restriction on the registration of new players on the list A and exclusion from the next Uefa club competitions for which they will qualify].”

The i Paper understands that that further sanctions include docking points in group stages of competitions or even banning them from entering Uefa competitions.

Both of the Premier League clubs were found in breach of Uefa’s new football earnings rule and for failing the cost control ratio regulations, where wages and transfer fees have to be within a certain percentage of revenues.

A significant portion of the fines were related to breaching the football earnings rules.

Uefa stated: “In assessing the clubs’ compliance with the football earnings rule, the CFCB [Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body] 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.”

Chelsea and Villa reported wages and transfer fees between “80 per cent and 90 per cent” of revenues.

Chelsea were fined €11m and Villa €6m for failing to keep them below the permitted 80 per cent.

Chelsea have until the 2028-29 season to rein in spending to ensure compliance or face the prospect of the fines reaching the higher level. Aston Villa have until 2027-28. The clubs agreed to their settlement periods with Uefa.

Chelsea and Villa were two of six clubs punished by Uefa for financial breaches.

The others were La Liga side Barcelona, Croatian side Hajduk Split, French club Lyon and Portuguese side Porto.

Chelsea were handed by far the severest punishment, followed by Barcelona.

The i Paper revealed last month that the two Premier League clubs were due to learn their fate this week and that they were expecting fines.

Both clubs passed the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules but were caught by Uefa’s regulations.

As they both qualified for European competition – Chelsea the Champions League and Villa the Europa League – they must comply with Uefa limits.

The CFCB launched a probe into the two clubs’ spending several months ago after it emerged that they were suspected to have breached.

For Premier League auditors, Chelsea were able to include the sale of the club’s women’s team to a company within the same ownership group – called BlueCo 22 MidCo Ltd – for £200m in their accounts, recording a pre-tax profit of £128.4m up to June 2024.

Uefa, however, do not permit the practice.

Uefa’s cost control ratio system, meanwhile, allows clubs to spend only a certain percentage of revenues on wages and transfer fees.

It was 80 per cent during the period under examination – the 2023-24 accounts – and has since dropped to 70 per cent.

Villa’s wage bill was £252m, against revenue of £257.7m, in the club’s accounts.

Officials from both clubs have been locked in talks with Uefa about agreeing on a settlement.

The clubs have to show Uefa how they plan to avoid breaching the regulations in future and how they will ensure they will not exceed the limits again.

The Premier League is set to introduce cost control ratio rules, aligning with Uefa, but clubs voted to delay the implementation until at least the start of the 2025-26 season during a shareholders meeting.

Furthermore, Uefa announced that Lyon have agreed to be excluded from next season’s Uefa competitions if their appeal against relegation is unsuccessful.

Lyon were kicked out of the French top flight by the country’s football finance watchdog for breaking spending rules.

If Lyon are unsuccessful in the appeal, then Crystal Palace will be free to play in the Europa League next season.