An important member of Celtic’s executive team was stolen by Aston Villa, who are now trying to take advantage of the situation to give themselves a financial advantage over its Premier League rivals.
Tonight, in a highly anticipated Champions League match, Villa will play their first Champions League match at Villa Park since 1983 against Bayern Munich.
The game has generated debate over ticket prices because Villa defeated Bayern to win the competition in 1982, making it particularly meaningful.
Following the outcry, Chris Heck, president of business at Villa, wrote a statement describing the price structure as a “difficult decision” and explaining that fans must pay anywhere from £70 to £97.
The American emphasized that the team must make as much money as possible in order to comply with the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which were previously applied to the NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers.
While UEFA’s counterpart bans expenditure on wages, transfers, and agent fees this season at 80%, the Premier League’s PSR system restricts teams to losses of £105 million over a rolling three-year period.
Villa’s owners, Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, had to absorb significant losses in order to qualify the team for the Champions League, and the team barely avoided a PSR violation in the previous campaign.
There are plans to increase Villa Park’s matchday revenue and extend it, but it will take years before there are noticeable financial benefits.
Villa names its new head of commerce.
In 2022–2023—the most recent financial year with records, Villa received £40.4 million in commercial income.
They were seventh that season, and according to research by renowned financial researcher Swiss Ramble, they will report £48 million in revenue when their 2023–24 financial statements are released.
Thanks to several new, large sponsorship deals and the excitement surrounding the Champions League campaign, which will increase sales, the figures will be significantly higher this season.
Sport Business now reports that Villa has named a new chief commercial officer to work at Villa Park alongside Chris Heck and the rest of the executive team.
Adrian Filby is leaving Celtic, where he served as the team’s commercial director for 16 years, overseeing a nearly 100% growth in revenue from commercial sales, which reached £29 million as of the most recent count.
It will be the highly regarded operator’s responsibility to maximize revenue through partnerships, merchandising, sponsorships, and marketing initiatives.
Deals with Adidas and Betano to boost Villa’s finances
Both on the transfer market and the commercial department, Villa had a busy summer.
The team signed front-of-shirt and kit sponsorships with Adidas and Betano, respectively, in time for their Champions League campaign. The annual value of these agreements is reportedly £20 million.
The Premier League will forbid front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship in 2026–2027, therefore the Betano agreement will only be in place for a maximum of two years.
However, the extra money means Villa will probably make between £70 and £80 million in commercial revenues this season, which would put them on par with teams like Newcastle United.