UEFA ruling on Garnacho and Rogers transfers could impact financial fair play calculations

The Athletic has published details of some of Aston Villa's negotiations with Garnacho. Emery is optimistic about Garnacho's future development. On the other hand, since Chelsea signed Morgan Rogers from Villa, UEFA may deem the two deals related.

Villa is pushing for this deal, with an initial proposal of a loan with an obligatory purchase option, and they will cover most of Garnacho's wages. The 22-year-old winger has become Emery's priority reinforcement—a fast winger who can break through opposition defenses.

Garnacho is on Villa's potential transfer target list, with other targets including Paris Saint-Germain's Ibrahim Mbaye and West Ham United's Summerville, who is close to joining Al-Hilal. Villa's scouting department has long followed Mbaye closely and has made contact during several transfer windows.

Representatives of players who have previously dealt with Villa state that Villa's transfer targets are constantly changing, and Emery often changes his mind. Just last week, Villa was still seriously discussing a deal for Summerville (who is now close to joining Al-Hilal).

Therefore, even if Garnacho joins, Villa may still sign another winger later in the summer window, but the team needs to assess departures from the squad and the corresponding financial space.

TA states that Garnacho's transfer is separate from Morgan Rogers' club-record £117 million (approximately €137 million) move to Chelsea, but it does raise some interesting questions.

Similar to last summer, Villa recently explored permanently signing Garnacho's teammate Nicolas Jackson. Emery has admired him since they worked together at Villarreal, but a deal would be costly.

Chelsea and Villa have a good relationship, which helped in the Rogers negotiations, with Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris having the final say. Both clubs have previously shown an openness to buying and selling players. In the summer of 2024, Maatsen joined Villa from Chelsea for £37.5 million, while academy product Kellyman moved in the opposite direction.

Over the past two seasons, both Villa and Chelsea have been fined for breaching UEFA's squad cost rules and are in a delicate position regarding Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Chelsea's asking price for Garnacho this summer is £42.5 million, requiring a permanent transfer, which would yield a small profit on the £40 million they paid Manchester United for him in August 2025. But Villa has made progress on a loan deal with a conditional obligatory purchase option.

Multiple Villa sources emphasize that Garnacho is seen as a market opportunity. Emery wanted to sign him last summer, but at that time Chelsea had Champions League qualification while Villa did not, which was more attractive to the Argentine international.

Villa initially felt Roma were leading the race for Garnacho this summer, but Emery pushed to convince the player to come to Villa. Villa believes that through Emery's determination, they have persuaded the winger to join.

If Garnacho's transfer is completed, it will be a signing spearheaded by Emery, with the Spanish coach being a key driving force behind the deal. Admittedly, given Chelsea's desire to offload him, striking a deal is much simpler than negotiating with Paris Saint-Germain for Mbaye, who would be much harder to poach for any buyer.

Villa insiders say Rogers was worth 14 goals per season, so finding a replacement is crucial. This was also the reason for pursuing West Ham United captain Bowen earlier this summer. The responsibility on Garnacho's shoulders is to make an immediate impact.

Emery's preference for wingers is well-known, and it's particularly evident in Garnacho's case. He wants an attacker who can add pace, directness, and ability on both flanks. It has been discussed that left-wing is not an issue—this is Garnacho's preferred position—as McGinn can cut in from the other side, ensuring Villa maintains two No. 10s, which is Emery's usual formation.

Villa's need to strengthen this position has been growing all summer, with Sancho's loan ending, Guéhi and Bailey potentially leaving, and the funds from Rogers' sale also providing Villa with room to maneuver. Club-record signing Mandzic is considered a direct replacement for Rogers.

Whoever comes will find that Emery allows the dressing room to self-manage. He has never fined a player for misbehavior since taking charge. Despite being demanding, he generally doesn't mind off-field conduct as long as players perform well on the pitch.

The same applies to the high standards in training, which are so intense that new signings may initially struggle to adapt, which is perhaps why Villa maintained such a similar core squad until this summer. For example, last season, even during Watkins' goal drought, he consistently started ahead of Abraham because Watkins was deemed to show a higher level of commitment and quality in training. Garnacho must meet these standards.

However, in some cases, Emery and his team take a more direct approach. When they believe a player has potential but may be losing their way, they help them refocus.

Bringing in Rashford in January 2025 is one example, as is signing Asensio in the same window, and to a lesser extent, Sancho. Even the persistent pursuit of Felix over at least three transfer windows highlights his willingness to sign controversial players.

"If there's one coach in European, or even world, football marked by restoring players and maximizing their potential, it's Unai Emery," former Villa sporting director Monchi once said.

Emery believes that a peak Rashford is one of the world's most dangerous attackers and trusts himself and his support team to revitalize the player. In the season fighting for a return to the Champions League, Villa gambled that Rashford could make an immediate impact, with senior figures revealing his wages—80% covered by Villa—were double that of the squad's second-highest earner.

For Garnacho, Emery believes he can refine the raw talent that made him one of Europe's most exciting young prospects a few years ago.

Notably, one of Garnacho's best games for Chelsea was their 4-1 victory at Villa Park in February. He assisted João Pedro's hat-trick and created the most chances and had the most touches in the opposition box in the entire match.

However, Garnacho's career has been accompanied by immaturity and petulance, and at times he has seemed to lack confidence. This has affected his performance, making him hesitant to break through and use his best attributes—pace and one-on-one skills.

Emery typically uses one wide player and will demand that Garnacho be serious about his defensive duties. In many one-on-one situations, he must make smarter, more varied decisions. Emery is adept at bringing stability to players, fostering good habits on and off the pitch, and helping them reach their potential. This is why he usually does not hesitate when tasked with revitalizing players' careers.

Emery wanted to sign Garnacho last summer, but Villa ultimately got Sancho, another Manchester United outcast. After convincing the winger that taking his guidance was the right next step, with negotiations with Chelsea progressing after Rogers' sale, Garnacho is about to face a crucial, arguably career-defining, 12 months.

Villa's pursuit of Garnacho is quite intriguing, not just because his first season at Stamford Bridge didn't meet expectations. By signing a Chelsea player—any Chelsea player—Villa risks undermining the significant profit they made by selling Rogers to the London club.

Both Villa and Chelsea must currently adhere to settlement agreements reached with UEFA a year ago. These agreements stem from the two English clubs breaching UEFA's Football Revenue Rule, which limits the scale of financial losses clubs can record after deducting "good" expenditures like infrastructure and youth teams.

The two agreements differ, but one point is clear for both: they both need to get rid of large losses.

English clubs, whether under settlement agreements or not, are increasingly turning to player sales to offset massive operating deficits. Rogers was bought for an initial £7 million from Middlesbrough, and even with potential add-ons of £8 million and his former club having a significant sell-on clause, the record £117 million fee brought a substantial profit to Villa Park.

However, UEFA's rules do not look favorably on players being exchanged between two clubs within a short period, and if they deem it a "player exchange transaction," they will require clubs to reduce the displayed profit in their calculations. Essentially, if UEFA determines that the Rogers deal is linked to a Chelsea player moving in the opposite direction, Villa would need to reduce their Rogers profit to the difference between the net cash received and the fee paid to Chelsea for Garnacho, or anyone else.

It's unclear whether Villa only wants to loan Garnacho, but there's a clear incentive not to make a permanent transfer, at least not yet. UEFA's player exchange rules cover a 45-day period. After that, a permanent transfer can be triggered, and Villa could fully sign Garnacho without negatively impacting the Rogers profit.

But they must also handle any terms included in the deal carefully.

Under UEFA regulations, if conditions are considered "almost certain," clubs must record them as a permanent transfer when the loan occurs. In this sense, the conditions included in the Garnacho deal must have a realistic possibility of not occurring for the deal to be initially recorded as a loan.

It's currently unclear what form these conditions might take, and club sources say no information can be confirmed before the deal is completed. UEFA will closely monitor any transfers, loans, or other deals that do occur, although Villa's argument that the purchase option is "conditional" may be inadvertently strengthened by a previous incident.

Last season, they loaned Elliott from Liverpool with a conditional obligatory purchase option that seemed quite achievable at the time: Elliott only needed to make 10 Premier League appearances for Villa. He didn't reach that, and subsequently returned to Liverpool.

Garnacho, Villa, and Chelsea all hope the same situation won't happen again. But a balance needs to be found in any deal that is finally signed. Villa wants to ensure they don't harm the Rogers profit, and even if the deal is limited to a loan, Chelsea will benefit from saved wages, but the latter is equally keen to secure the departure of a no-longer-needed player as much as possible.

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