(Credit: Imago)

Cameron Smith

Sat 9 May 2026 19:26, UK

Aston Villa are on the brink of returning to the Champions League.

It has been a fine season for the Villans, who have three league games left and a Europa League final against Freiburg to come.

After featuring in the Champions League last term, Unai Emery’s side went out in the quarter-finals to Paris Saint-Germain, then missed out on qualifying again on the final day.

Since Emery’s arrival in 2022, Villa have continued to progress and are now firmly re-established on the European stage.

Securing a place in Europe’s premier competition remains crucial, not least because of the financial rewards on offer.

Figures outline Champions League importance for Aston Villa

It has been a remarkable few years for Aston Villa, whose success has enabled them to attract talent from across the continent.

The Champions League, however, remains the priority – and the financial reasons are obvious.

Qualification for the competition is worth around £16million, while Villa’s run to the quarter-finals last season is estimated to have brought in £73.1m.

As the table above shows, even if Emery’s side were to win the Europa League, the total income would still not reach half of what they earned from last season’s Champions League campaign, underlining the value of Europe’s premier competition.

Figures released by Football Meets Data on X have highlighted that gulf

Villa have earned around £25m so far from their run to the final, a striking contrast.

At the same time, Newcastle brought in more than double that, at £54.4m, while Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City also posted substantial totals, despite none progressing beyond the last 16.

Winning the Europa League would be transformative for Villa, but the financial reality tells a very different story.

Silverware is the missing piece in Aston Villa progression

Emery’s impact will be remembered as one of the modern game’s great managerial success stories.

When he arrived, Villa had been struggling near the bottom of the Premier League since returning to the top flight in 2019. What followed was remarkable.

He would guide the club into the Conference League in his first season and into the Champions League in his second.

Under his stewardship, Villa reached impressive heights before narrowly missing out on Europe’s top competition on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign.

The next step is to push further towards the top end of the Premier League, where they briefly found themselves after a sensational run into the new year.

But Villa have since discovered that reaching the level required to challenge for titles is an immensely demanding task. It will require further backing and the ability to convince players just how strong a project this is in the West Midlands.

A trophy would do exactly that, especially a European one.

If Villa lift the Europa League this month, they will establish themselves as a major force on the continent, while giving themselves a superb platform to strengthen the squad further and persuade their current talent that Villa Park is the place to be.