Aston Villa can breathe a sigh of relief as an agreement has been struck between the clubs representatives and HMRC to settle the outstanding debt, according to Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett.
The reliable journalist claimed via his personal Twitter account on Wednesday evening detailing the payment plan Aston Villa have installed, paying the outstanding debt over several installments.
It is understood that £500,000 was paid today (Wednesday) and another worth £1.2million will be paid by the end of the week.
#avfc stave off immediate threat of administration by promising HMRC £1.2m by end of week -half the total debt. Paid £500k earlier today. Club guarantee remaining £1.2m will be paid quickly. Xia will sell club for right price, but prefers to stay in charge and get new investment.
— Rob Dorsett (@RobDorsettSky) June 6, 2018
The threat of administration was a genuine one for Villa, as the financial setbacks from not reaching the Premier League and its ensuing riches, added to the reduction of their parachute payments, have caused a crisis.
A lot of Villa’s players this past season were earning big money, and the Birmingham Mail reported that John Terry earned over £3.5million from one season alone just on wages, which would have been enough to settle this debt.
OPINION
Steve Bruce’s men falling in the Playoff Final was a disaster for the club, who desperately needed their share of the astronomical TV licensing money that comes in the Premier League. On Tuesday afternoon, the Midlands club went from tweeting about their upcoming pre-season fixtures to declaring that they could be subject to a winding-up order; which just about sums up the drastic turn of events for the club. It seems as though many of the first team regulars might have to be sold in order to free up funding, which in turn could have a negative effect on the club, that had built a bonafide promotion challenging unit since their relegation two years ago. It is unclear what is next for the club, but it appears there could be a light at the end of the tunnel if Tony Xia is able to find the funding to stick to this arranged payment plan.