'Huge' update on £40m Aston Villa off-pitch deal that will see them reach Real Madrid status

Aston Villa are seeing the results of significant financial investment under Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris and qualifying for the Champions League is not the only major leap forward they have made.

Villa are in Champions League action against Club Brugge tomorrow night, with Unai Emery’s side looking to maintain their position at the top of the new-look 36-team table.

Qualification for the knockout phase will not only guarantee enormous prize money but also give them far more leverage when negotiating with sponsors.

Aston Villa’s commercial income was just shy of £41m in 2022-23 and is projected to have risen closer to £50m by the time their 2023-24 accounts are ready for publication.

Thanks mainly to Villa’s major new deals with Adidas and Betano, that figure will soar in 2024-25.

With Villa having only narrowly dodged a Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breach last season and with the margins razor thin again this term, that extra income will yield more breathing space.

UEFA’s spending rules are more restrictive than UEFA’s, so Villa are looking to maximise every revenue opportunity available to them this term.

Some of those, such as the decision by president of business Chris Heck to charge fans £100-plus to watch Villa against Bayern Munich, have been deeply controversial.

But there has been some good news on the financial front that Villa fans will welcome today.

• READ MORE: Tim Sherwood says Aston Villa were truly ripped off when they sold £8m player

Aston Villa to be ‘confirmed’ as Adidas elite club

As well as paying Villa at least £40m over the next two seasons, Adidas’s designs have gone down a storm with the club’s fans this season.

And as reported by football kit specialists Footy Headlines, Villa are set to be come an Adidas ‘elite’ team from next season.

There are only a handful of teams in Adidas’s elite category, including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Renowned kit designed and industry insider Rob Warner, who happens to be a Villa fan, wrote on X that the step up would make a “huge difference” for Villa.

He suggests that Adidas will commit more funds to marketing, create a better product, and facilitate distribution on a global scale as a result of the upgrade to elite level.

• READ MORE: Aston Villa ‘considering’ move for Argentine talent wanted by Real Madrid

How much have Aston Villa already made from the Champions League?

While the Adidas deal was signed around six months before Aston Villa’s qualification for the Champions League was confirmed, finishing 4th will have hiked the value of the contract for the club.

It is customary for kit suppliers to include performance-related bonuses in their deals with clubs.

Playing in the Champions League with the millions of extra viewers and brand association benefits that has means that Villa are likely to trouser the top end of the £17-20m bracket.

But ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Brugge in Belgium, how much have Villa already made?

TBR Football spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire to find out.

“They have made about £9m from prize money to date,” he said.

“That is from three games. They have got a further five games to go. They have got their entry fee, which is the thick end of £20-30m. They have been spectacularly successful.

“The one thing that goes against them is that it’s their first Champions League season. That means they are relatively low in the coefficient table – but that is now a work in progress.

“If they win another three games, the money starts to crank up. If Villa get to the final £100m prize money alone is feasible.

“On top of that you’ve got gate receipts, sponsor bonuses from Adidas and the like. So, it is transformational. It would really lift them in terms of what they can do next season as well.”