Aston Villa accused of ‘insulting’ move as sale made official this week
Aston Villa’s move to sell their women’s team to the club’s holding company is “insulting” to the sport.
That is according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who said the actions of the likes of Villa, Chelsea and Everton are making a “mockery” of the rules.
On Tuesday, Maguire posted a screenshot confirming Villa had sold their women’s team to V Sports, the holding company that owns the club.
Reports suggest billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will pocket the Villa Park outfit around £55million from the sale, months before the practice is set to be outlawed.
After Chelsea sold their women’s team to parent company BlueCo for just under £200m last April – and Everton did the same last July, this time to Roundhouse Capital Holdings – Maguire has slammed this “get out of jail free card” for men’s teams.
Kieran Maguire raises fresh fear despite regulation change
The aforementioned clubs have managed to secure these transactions ahead of such practises, including selling assets such as hotels, being banned from the 2026-27 season. From next term, Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) will replace the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
The new regulations mean overall squad costs, such as wages, transfer sums and agents’ fees, have to be kept under 85 per cent of a club’s revenue. Those restrictions are tighter in Europe, with UEFA enforcing a 70 per cent rule.
When asked about clubs selling women’s teams to their parent companies, Price of Football podcaster Maguire heavily criticised the practice and said it was an insult to women’s football.
He also raised concerns that football teams will just find other loopholes to generate revenue in the future.
He exclusively told Villa News: “I think it’s insulting to the women’s game as the women’s game should be seen as an independent sport with its own audience, rather than as a get out of jail free card for the men’s team for PSR compliance purposes.
“It’s using women’s teams as independent entities. So there’s no downside or no benefit to the women’s games from being used, so that’s one issue.
“I think it does make a mockery of the rules, and it shows that whoever drafted the rules hasn’t really thought them through.
“My only concern is if this gets outlawed, you just get sort of a game of whack-a-mole, and you get the accountants and the lawyers around the table, and they’ll find another loophole. They are very confident of that, I’m sure.”
Aston Villa in danger of missing out on huge pay off
On Wednesday, Maguire stated that failure to qualify for the Champions League could be worth as much as £120m for a Premier League team.
UEFA’s financial report stated that Liverpool earned £85.3m in distribution payments for reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2024-25 season. Extra ticket sales and other commercial opportunities can increase this figure, too.
Villa reached the quarter-finals of that tournament last year but missed out on qualification for the competition in 2025. They are into the last 16 of the Europa League but the sums they can rake in from this tournament are much smaller.
Therefore, defeats such as the one they suffered at the hands of Chelsea on Wednesday are a big blow to Villa’s goal of returning to the Champions League next season.
It could have been different if Ollie Watkins’ goal was allowed to stand but it wasn’t, as the Blues won 4-1 at Villa Park.
The result means Villa remain fourth in the Premier League after third-placed Manchester United suffered a late loss at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Now, sixth-placed Liverpool and United are separated by just three points, meaning one of them will miss out on Champions League football next season.
If Villa, who were title challengers not all that long ago, don’t get into Europe’s elite competition, that could lead to big changes at the club – and not for the better.
For more football finance stories on Villa, visit Football Insider.