UEFA has imposed substantial financial penalties on Chelsea and Aston Villa for breaching football earnings regulations during the 2023/24 season.
The European governing body fined Chelsea £26.5 million whilst Aston Villa received a £9.5 million penalty.
The sanctions were announced on Friday by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), which examined the clubs' compliance with financial rules for the years ending 2023 and 2024.
Both Premier League sides have agreed settlement agreements with the CFCB following their failure to comply with the football earnings rule.
Chelsea have been hit with a £26.5million fine after breaching UEFA financial rules
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The fines represent immediate payments, with both clubs facing the prospect of significantly larger penalties if they fail to meet future financial targets.
Chelsea faces a potential additional £60 million fine if they breach their settlement agreement within the monitoring period, which could extend up to four years, meaning they could end up paying £86.5 million in fines - a record amount handed out by UEFA.
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Villa could be hit with a further £15 million penalty under similar conditions.
The Blues' total sanctions comprise £17.2 million for breaching the football earnings rule, with £60 million suspended, plus a mandatory £9.5 million for squad cost control charges.
Villa must pay £4.3 million immediately for the earnings rule breach, with £15 million conditional, alongside £5.2 million for squad cost control violations.
The CFCB particularly scrutinised transactions involving asset sales and player exchanges between related parties.
Chelsea and Aston Villa were not the only European clubs sanctioned by UEFA on Friday.
Barcelona received a €15 million fine, Lyon €12.5 million, Porto faced penalties, and Croatian side Hajduk Split was fined €300,000.
All six clubs failed to comply with the football earnings rule, with the CFCB focusing particularly on "transactions involving the sale of tangible or intangible assets, as well as the exchange of players [swaps] and player transfers between related parties".
The fines were calculated based on the size of each club's assessed breaches, with larger penalties reflecting more significant violations of UEFA's financial regulations.
Chelsea will be subject to restrictions on registering new players on their List A for UEFA competitions including the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The club has agreed to be monitored by the CFCB for four years.
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UEFA have slapped Chelsea and Aston Villa with huge fines
PA
All six clubs have entered settlement agreements with UEFA's financial control body.
The conditional fines will only become payable if clubs breach their settlements within agreed periods of two, three or four years.
The sanctions relate specifically to the 2023/24 season, with UEFA's analysis covering financial years ending in 2023 and 2024.
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