Aston Villa Director: Only Realized Potential PSR Violation at End of Last Season, Selling Douglas Luiz on Deadline Day Avoided Points Deduction

Aston Villa’s Football Operations Director, Damian Vidagany, revealed in an interview with the media that selling Douglas Luiz on June 30th ensured that Aston Villa complied with the PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules), thus avoiding the risk of a ten-point deduction in the future.

Damian Vidagany disclosed that it was only towards the end of last season that they realized the club was likely to breach the PSR. “At the end of the season, we found ourselves in a precarious position. If we did not make a profit from player sales, we would likely be in violation. However, May and June each year are typically quiet periods for transfers.”

However, faced with the risk of a points deduction, Damian Vidagany stated that the club had to take action. “We had to find a way to solve the problem. It wasn’t until the very last moment on June 30th that we sold Luiz, which brought cheers from everyone.”

Notably, the PSR rules stipulate that the cumulative loss over three years must not exceed £105 million. Prior to June 30th this year, Aston Villa’s losses amounted to £163 million. After selling Luiz on June 30th for a transfer fee of £42 million, and subsequently selling three players for a total of £60 million, the club narrowly avoided breaching the limit.

Damian Vidagany revealed that he and Monchi (Aston Villa’s Football Operations President) had a sleepless night. “In the last week of May, we went to Italy and reached an agreement with Juventus, but the final signing happened on June 30th. At the time, Luiz was in Las Vegas participating in the Copa America, and our nerves were frayed; we were almost drenched in sweat.”