Aston Villa captain John McGinn criticised Premier League rules in an exclusive interview with BirminghamLive
10:00, 03 Aug 2025Updated 16:32, 03 Aug 2025
John Townley interviewing Aston Villa captain John McGinn
John McGinn has hit out at the Premier League’s spending rules, which he claims are holding Aston Villa back and provide the ‘big six’ an unfair advantage.
This summer, the club’s owners, V Sports, have been unable to splash the cash to bolster Unai Emery’s squad and provide the best support possible to challenge for another Champions League finish.
Villa have two ways of accessing UEFA’s elite club competition next season: via their league finish and the Europa League, which they qualified for after finishing sixth last term.
Villa have only added two players this summer – one of whom could leave on loan: Zepiqueno Redmond, who joined on a free transfer at the start of last month. Goalkeeper Marco Bizot has been the only other addition, arriving from Stade Brest to replace Robin Olsen.
It’s also UEFA’s squad cost rules that Villa must abide by this summer, which limit spending on wages in relation to a club’s revenue.
Villa narrowly missed out on returning to the Champions League on the final day of last season after losing 2–0 to Manchester United, but it was a result marred by a mistake from referee Thomas Bramall.
He blew his whistle when Morgan Rogers won the ball from Altay Bayindir before putting it in the back of the net, which meant VAR could not overturn the decision.
At that stage in the game, Villa were already sitting in the top five because Newcastle were losing to Everton, so even a draw would have been enough to get over the line.
“There will be a tinge of jealousy watching the Champions League this year, but our aim is to go as far as we possibly can in the Europe League, try to get back into the Champions League, which helps the club not only for next season and for many years moving forward,” McGinn said in an exclusive interview with BirminghamLive.
“We have seen the impact it has now. I don’t know any details about that, but you don’t have to be clever to realise that if you want to compete with the big boys, there are rules which are pretty much unfair if you ask me.
“We have got owners who want to invest in the team and want to spend to kick the club on, but they are not allowed to do it. It’s tough to see. The rules are similar for a lot of the clubs.”
He added: “I think it [being at a disadvantage] unites everyone, the manager and the players. It’s the same for every supporter that they want a new toy. When you’ve not got them in the summer, you think, ‘oh, where are they’. But then you realise that we are actually alright here.
“We just signed Bouba [Kamara] on a new long-term contract, and he is one of the best midfielders in Europe. We have held onto some big players. It’s not all doom and gloom. We are positive going into the new season and make it a special one.
“Ever since the manager has come in, we have achieved something which we haven’t done before. He is as motivated as us to do the same.”
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It promises to be an exciting season ahead for Aston Villa as Unai Emery’s side look to build on last season’s efforts and will look to finish even higher this time around.
Despite not achieving the same feat of the 2023/2024 season by securing a UEFA Champion’s League spot — the 2024/25 campaign proved to be a decent one for the Villains. Villa managed to get into continental football by qualifying for the Europa League and will play their third consecutive season of European competition.
It looks as though there is a lot to look forward to this coming campaign. And with that in mind, we have produced our Aston Villa 2025/26 Kick-Off special — our brilliant guide to the new season.
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