Aston Villa may ‘have to’ sell key players to avoid PSR breach

Aston Villa may be forced to sell players soon in order to stay compliant with Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), according to finance expert Stefan Borson. 

Villa have vigorously backed manager Unai Emery in recent years, with Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres and Jhon Duran among his most costly acquisitions at the club so far.

The reward for the Midlands club was Emery guiding them to a shock fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season, sealing them a berth in the 2024/25 Champions League.

However, Villa are one of several Premier League clubs who have been walking a fine line when it comes to their PSR position in the last six months.

Aston Villa still walking financial tightrope, says Borson

Despite selling Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz for big fees this summer, Villa are still having to navigate carefully and generate as much income as possible from all revenue streams to keep their financial position in check.

In fact, according to Borson, things remain so precarious for Villa that they may have to sell another big star soon in order to satisfy the powers that be at the Premier League.

“They have spent a fortune,” Borson told Football Insider.

“The Villa owners have spent a lot of money over the last few years and they have been successful in doing it.

“They got themselves into the Champions League.

“But we know that the club was very close to breaching PSR on the 30 June, so it’s not a surprise that they need to generate as much revenue as they can from wherever they can, be that ticket sales, Champions League, merchandising, everything.

“They are going to try and maximise every revenue line to try and squeeze the gap between where they are and the £105m limit.

“If they don’t do that, then they will have to sell footballers, which they might not want to do.”