Chelsea & Aston Villa fined for breaching Uefa financial rules

Chelsea and Aston Villa have been fined by Uefa for breaching the European governing body's financial rules.

The two clubs could be prevented from registering new players for Uefa competitions for the forthcoming season unless they have a positive transfer balance by the end of the summer transfer window.

Chelsea have been fined 31m euros (£26.7m) and could be fined a further 60m euros (£51.2m) if they do not comply with the rules in the next four years.

Villa have been fined 11m euros (£9.5m), with a further 15m euros (£12.9m) conditional on compliance in a three-year period.

The punishments relate to a breach of Uefa's football earnings rule and having a squad cost ratio - the proportion of their income paid out in wages - above 80%.

Chelsea are due to compete in the Champions League in 2025-26, with Aston Villa in the Europa League.

In a statement, Chelsea said: "The club has worked closely and transparently with Uefa to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the club is on a strong upwards trajectory.

"Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with Uefa and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement."

The punishments were issued by Uefa's club financial control body (CFCB).

In a statement, the CFCB said profits from "the sale of tangible or intangible assets, the exchange of players (so-called 'swaps') and the transfers of players between related parties" cannot be included in submitted accounts.

Chelsea posted a pre-tax profit of £128.4m in June 2024, a figure that included the £200m sale of the women's team to a separate entity within the club's parent company BlueCo.

The club also sold two hotels to a sister company that were used to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which differ from Uefa's regulations, last season.

There have been reports Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sell their women's team in order to comply with PSR.

Chelsea have made transfers worth £150m on five players this summer, while Villa have yet to make a major signing.

Barcelona were also fined 15m euros (£13m) for breaching Uefa's financial rules, while Lyon were sanctioned 12.5m euros (£10.7m). The French club agreed to be excluded from European competition if their appeal against relegation to Ligue 2 for domestic financial breaches fails.

That outcome could also impact Crystal Palace, whose participation in next season's Europa League is in doubt because they may have breached multi-club ownership (MCO) rules in relation to American businessman John Textor's involvement at both clubs.