Aston Villa are facing a financial crisis this summer as owner Dr Tony Xia seeks either investment or a sale of the club with a potential mass exit of players, according to Sky journalist Rob Dorsett.
The reporter for Sky Sports news has made the bombshell claims via his personal Twitter account, which reveal that those inside Villa Park are seriously concerned the club will have to sanction the sale of the majority of their top stars in a bid to bring in immediate cash to stay afloat.
Understand Dr Xia is looking for inward investment and is prepared to sell #avfc for right price. Talks with HMRC ongoing. Administration a real concern – mainly cash flow problems in China. Insiders fear fire sale of best players. Poss biggest crisis in club’s history.
— Rob Dorsett (@RobDorsettSky) June 6, 2018
It is stated that discussions with HMRC are taking place after the club reportedly missed paying their multi-million tax bill, and that they have been given a brief amount of time to pay up.
Opinion
Aston Villa’s plight shows just how much football relies on money nowadays, and the sort of impact relegation can have on a side. The Villans appeared to put all their eggs in one basket this season and threw everything they had on making it back to the financial riches of the promised land – and it would have all been so different had it not been for their play off final defeat to Fulham. It appears as though the midlands giants are facing another situation similar to the infamous struggles that Leeds United faced all those years ago, and there will be a number of worried faces at Villa Park. It must be a case of all hands to the pumps in a bid to try and overcome the issues now and ensure that the club has a possibility of a bright future, or it could be curtains for one of England’s most decorated sides.