sports
UEFA Fines Aston Villa £19.4 Million for 2025 Squad-Cost Breach
Aston Villa received the largest penalty among four Premier League clubs sanctioned by UEFA for breaching squad-cost rules in 2025. Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United were also fined, with portions of the penalties suspended pending future compliance.
news.sky.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
UEFA fined Aston Villa £19.4 million for a significant breach of its 2025 squad-cost rules. The club will face limits on registering new signings for its Champions League squad next season, and £12.9 million of the fine remains suspended on condition that Aston Villa substantially reduces its squad-cost ratio throughout 2026.
The sanction extends a conditional penalty issued to the club in summer 2025.
Chelsea must pay £2.6 million, with £1.7 million suspended pending future compliance. Nottingham Forest was fined £2.2 million. Newcastle United received a £2.6 million fine for squad-cost violations and an additional £8.6 million for an overspend against UEFA's football earnings threshold, of which £6 million is suspended for three years.
Three clubs completed transactions involving sales to directly connected entities. Chelsea transferred midfielder Mathis Amougou to Strasbourg for £12 million. Aston Villa generated income from the sale of its women's team.
Newcastle United recorded a £34.7 million profit after selling the St James' Park leasehold and surrounding land to PZ Holdings Limited, a subsidiary. UEFA reduced its spending threshold from 80 per cent to 70 per cent of club income last season. The Premier League introduces its own squad-cost restrictions from Wednesday, allowing the eleven clubs without European competition to allocate up to 85 per cent of revenue to playing staff and management.
Chelsea, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest remain bound by UEFA's ongoing compliance requirements. UEFA sanctioned 14 clubs overall for 2025-26 financial rules breaches. Clubs above the 70 per cent squad-cost ratio limit include Aston Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Nice, Strasbourg, AEK Athens, Fiorentina and Fenerbahce.
Strasbourg was fined 25 million euros with 12 million euros suspended. Chelsea stated that UEFA had recognised the improving trend in its spending and that the 70 per cent threshold was only narrowly exceeded. Last summer Chelsea were fined 31 million euros for breaches of the financial sustainability regulations.
