Aston Villa owe Chris Heck an apology as £391m development emerges at Villa Park
Chris Heck came under plenty of scrutiny throughout his time at Aston Villa.
Heck was appointed to help grow Villa as a global brand by utilising his background, having worked in marketing for the NBA, New York Red Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Things started well with the American having a telling say on a record-breaking sponsorship deal between Villa and Betano that brought £40million to B6.
The positive vibes quickly vanished when Heck opted to charge Villa fans £316 for their four home league phase matches of the Champions League.
That instantly tarnished any relationship between supporters and Heck, but they may backtrack on their annoyance after the latest financial reveal.
Aston Villa revenues rise by 45% for 2025
Villa faced a fine from UEFA last year as problems around the Squad Cost Rules and revenue-to-wage ratio continued to have a hugely frustrating impact at Villa Park.
That wasn’t helped by the signings of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan, especially when Unai Emery’s men missed out on the Champions League.
The Villans were spending 96 per cent of their revenue on wages, leading supporters of other clubs to bash them with that figure on social media.
Luckily for everyone associated with the claret and blue outfit, the wait is over, and that can no longer be used against them.
Deloitte released their Football Money League for 2026 on Thursday, revealing that Villa’s revenue has risen by 45 per cent, from £270m last year to £391m.
That has seen the B6 club rise from 18th to 14th for global revenue, the biggest rise of any other club of the 20 featured.
That now sees Villa sit ahead of giants like AC Milan, Juventus and Benfica in the revenue charts, while also climbing above fellow Premier League side Newcastle, who sat 15th last year.
This has been helped by the work of Emery’s men and the on-pitch results, but also has benefited from the often scrutinised work of Heck.
Chris Heck lands £40m commercial revenue boost at Villa Park
Heck may not be the most well-liked figure in the Midlands, but this financial report proves just how effective he was at his job.
Villa’s revenue has been on the up since 2023, but the biggest leap has come between 2024 and 2025, where the American had a telling say on operations.
The latest graph from Deloitte just showcases that, while highlighting the dramatic rise in commercial and matchday revenue.
A total revenue for the year of £450m is helped by a massive £287m from broadcasting, which is certainly down to the work of Emery and Co. in the Champions League.
Outside of that, Heck managed to drive commercial revenue up by £40m to £83m and matchday revenue up by £28m to £80m.
Those sorts of numbers have pushed Villa up into a battle with some elite sides and has also helped take that revenue-to-wage ratio down to around 71 per cent.
There are some circles at Villa Park who didn’t like Heck, but there is no getting away from the numbers and the financial boost his work provided in B6.
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