Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris is considering legal action against the Premier League for its ‘anti-competitive’ spending rules.
The club will be in the Champions League next season but in order to comply with the top flight’s profitability and sustainability regulations, they will have to sell players this month, with key midfielder Douglas Luiz in talks with Juventus.
Villa are in advanced talks over a deal worth £16.9million cash, which would include unwanted Juve players Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling moving to Villa Park.
But Sawiris is unhappy with the system, which allows clubs to lose no more than £105m over a three-year period. Luiz may not be Villa’s only sale before June 30, either, with defender Matty Cash offered to clubs around Europe including AC Milan.
The Egyptian billionaire told the Financial Times he had contemplated launching an official complaint through legal channels.
Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris (pictured right, with fellow owner Wes Edens) is considering legal action against the Premier League for its ‘anti-competitive’ spending rules
Villa are having to sell players this month to comply with PSR rules, with Douglas Luiz one player who could depart despite the Brazilian midfielder being a key player in their team
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He said: ‘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.’ He added that PSR rules were ‘opaque and… seemingly arbitrary.’
Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked eight and four points respectively for breaching PSR rules last season though both managed to avoid relegation.
And Leicester, newly promoted from the Championship, look set to begin next season with a points deduction after they too were charged earlier this year.
Losing Luiz would be a huge blow for Unai Emery ahead of Villa’s Champions League campaign
Sawiris’ words also come just a week after Man City initiated legal action against the Premier League in a separate case over their Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
In a 165-page legal document, the champions claimed they are the victims of ‘discrimination’ and that regulations approved by rivals they feel are aimed at curtailing their success are the ‘tyranny of the majority’.
City said the league’s APT rules are unlawful and are seeking to have them thrown out. They are also claiming damages which some believe could run to tens of millions.
City’s case against the top flight began on Monday.
