Aston Villa punched their ticket to the last-eight of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening as the club's lucrative run in the competition continued.
Against the backdrop of the UEFA European Football Finance and Investment Report that revealed Villa were set to post losses of £80million for the 2023/2024 financial year, the need to make as much money as possible before now and the end of the current financial year, which runs until the end of June, is vital.
With the last two years seeing losses of £120million and £80million, and with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) only allowing for clubs to lose a maximum of £105million over a three-year cycle, with allowable deductions for investment made in infrastructure, the academy, the women's team and community initiatives, stemming losses in 2024/2025 is vital if the club wants to invest meaningfully in the summer.
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The last-16 success over Club Brugge was something of a cakewalk for Villa. A 3-1 triumph in Belgium and a Marco Asensio-inspired 3-0 win at Villa Park on Wednesday evening took Unai Emery's squad further on their remarkable European journey. It is a journey that will be impactful for Villa well into next season.
After the league stage of the competition, revamped for this season to create additional games, Villa had a record of five wins and a draw from their eight matches. Including the money received for initial qualification, when factoring in prize money per result, progression to the last-16, and a slice of the TV money, Villa had amassed just under £60million before their clashes with Club Brugge. That figure, however, didn't take into account gate receipts and associated income from the game, amounting to around £75million.
Now, with an additional £10.5million on the bank from qualifying for the last-eight stage, and at least one home game to add into that, with Paris Saint-Germain their visitors, Champions League revenue is going to be pushing the £95million mark, likely higher when additional broadcast sums are factored into the equation.
Commercially, the club will have either seen an uplift in some deals through increased European exposure, or will have the ability to leverage what they have achieved in the Champions League this season when either renegotiating deals or aligning with new commercial partners for next season. That kind of growth is vital for the club to continue an upward trajectory.
What this season has underlined is the huge impact that a sustained presence at European football's top table can have.
Arsenal, for example, had to spend several years on the outside looking in when it came to challenging for the top honours in the Premier League - and having spent six seasons outside the Champions League they saw themselves fall well behind their rivals.
But Arsenal's successive qualifications for the Champions League have been completely transformative to finances, and with the club to make it a hat-trick this season, that is a trend that will continue. The past two years have also seen them leapfrog Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Premier League title rivals Liverpool to take seventh place on the annual Deloitte Football Money League Report.
Champions League qualification remains on the table for Villa again this season, although there will be a significant amount of work and good fortune required to pull it off.
But the deeper they can go this season, and more they can earn, the more they can put towards a playing budget for next season, allowing them to build from a position of strength - even though PSR is to remain until the end of the 2025/2026 season at least.
Turning around clubs from being on the outside looking in, to being genuine contenders, rellies upon competitive European success. Emery is a coach that has a track record of delivering exactly that, and that could be the ace up Villa's sleeve.
