Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says “many clubs” have inflated their budgets as English football responds to the Premier League’s verdict against Manchester City.
An independent Premier League panel found that Manchester City had illegally injected more than £900m to avoid financial regulations, with their ownership group contributing £830.69m through commercial partnerships. The club have appealed against the decision.
Emery is the first Premier League manager to speak publicly about the case. Asked by Spanish publication Diario de Sevilla about the possible impact on English football, the Aston Villa boss said financial restrictions already affected every club.
“It’s an issue that was already known,” Emery said. “Because we all have our restrictions, we have to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play, we have to figure out how to draw up contracts with new people.
“Financial Fair Play seeks a financial balance so that what you generate is spent and there isn’t inflation. Yes, many other clubs have inflated their budgets, and now it’s coming to light, and naturally there’s a decline.
“That’s something that the courts and those responsible will have to decide. I feel sorry because how that team played. With Guardiola, there were times when they were unmatched.”
Daily Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Manchester City would seek to establish their innocence by arguing that the government of Abu Dhabi, rather than the club’s owners, helped fund sponsorship agreements that were described as “sham” deals.
The case has emerged as English football attempts to adjust to one of the biggest scandals of the modern era. The panel’s findings centre largely on claims that Manchester City’s ownership group boosted the value of commercial agreements by £830.69m.
Emery’s comments come as Aston Villa manage their own financial restrictions. The club’s co-owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, are billionaires, but Villa are currently in trouble with UEFA after breaching financial regulations.
A club’s ability to spend is connected to its revenue, meaning Villa cannot use their owners’ personal wealth in the same way as the financial resources generated by global brands such as Liverpool or Manchester United.
Aston Villa are currently in Marbella, Spain, for a three-day training camp. They were scheduled to play Emery’s former club Sevilla in a friendly on Friday.