A quartet of Premier League clubs have been slapped with fines totalling over £29 million (€34m) by UEFA after being found in breach of financial regulations.
Aston Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have all been disciplined for breaching the squad cost rule by reporting a squad cost ratio above 70 per cent for the 2025 calendar year.
The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) also found that Newcastle did not comply with the football earnings rule which was assessed for the first time on a 3-year aggregate basis in the 2025/26 season.
Four Premier League clubs fined by UEFA for breaching financial rules
Villa were fined £19.4m (€22.5m) for committing a “significant breach” of the squad cost rule, while Chelsea were fined £2.6m (€3m).
Both clubs had already been sanctioned last season and entered into stringent compliance agreements. The CFCB First Chamber said they “took into consideration the improving trend in their squad cost ratio between 2024 and 2025 in line with projections submitted as part of their settlement agreement”.
Therefore, £12.9m (€15m) of Villa’s fine and £1.7m (€2m) of Chelsea’s fine is conditional, meaning they will only pay £6.46m (€7.5m) and £860,000 (€1m) respectively. The Villans will not be able to register new players onto their A List for UEFA competitions unless they have a positive transfer balance, i.e. the cost of signing players does not exceed what they bring in from sales.
Newcastle have been fined £11.2m (€13m) in total, £8.6m (€10m) for not complying with the football earnings rule and a further £2.6m (€3m) for breaching the squad cost rule. The Magpies have also entered into a compliance agreement, meaning they will only pay £2.6m (€3m) and will not be able to register new players onto their A list. This is not immediately relevant to the club as they did not qualify for Europe this season, but further breaches could result in bigger fines or expulsion from European competition.
Forest have been fined £2.15m (€2.5m) for their breach of the squad cost rule.
RC Strasbourg, which is run by Chelsea ownership group BlueCo, have been hit with a £21.5m (€25m) fine, the biggest penalty placed on any of the 14 clubs monitored by UEFA this year. £10.3m (€12m) of that figure is conditional, meaning they will only pay £11.2m (€13m).
Fines are calculated in proportion to the percentage points above the defined limit and the size of the club’s squad cost excess.
