Aston Villa owner considers to take legal action against Premier League PSR

Aston Villa have qualified for the UEFA Champions League after 41 years. After Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the all-important game, they secured their place in the top-tier European competitions for the 2024/25 season. Unai Emery has led the side to the UCL after finishing fourth in the English Premier League table. They even won the tournament 1981-82 season Villa finished second and fourth in the Premier League in 1992-93 and 1995-96, respectively. 

But ahead of the new season beginning, there has been turmoil as the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) are in place to stop clubs losing over £105m over three years. Premier League clubs have agreed to test two new financial systems: one that limits player spending to 85 per cent of revenue, and the other that relates the amount any club can spend to the income of the lowest-ranked team.

Both will be utilised in tandem with the existing PSR. Due to this very reason, Villa owner Nassef Sawiris is thinking of taking legal action against the Premier League’s PSR. The Egyptian criticised the league's spending laws and asked the system of penalties for breaking the rules also lacks transparency. He believes the current system has turned English football into a "financial game."

Some of the rules have resulted in cementing the status: Nassef Sawiris

Sawiris said to the Financial Times, "Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport. The rules do not make sense and are not good for football. Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs. It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game."

Manchester City have been charged with 115 breaches of the PSR as the City Football Group and the repercussions could be problematic for the club. The club has previously been accused of breaking Premier League rules over 100 times between 2009 and 2018 as they failed to provide submit proper financial information to the League.