Unai Emery makes 'happy and comfortable' claim when assessing Aston Villa's Europa League fate

Sunday’s controversial 2-0 defeat at Manchester United saw Villa miss out on a place in the Champions League and could have significant ramifications for a summer club officials have already acknowledged will be “difficult” due to profit and sustainability (PSR) constraints.

Emery expressed pride in his team qualifying for European football for a third straight season but acknowledged it would “be better” to be in the Champions League due to its greater financial reward.

Villa are estimated to have earned close to £90m this season thanks to their progression to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.

But the prize money available in the Europa League is drastically reduced. Villa earned more than £30m for finishing eighth in the group stage of this year’s Champions League, receiving more than £15m simply for qualifying. 

Clubs who qualify for the Europa League, by contrast, receive more than £4m, while wins in the group phase of the competition are worth less in prize money than draws in the Champions League.

Villa scraped under the Premier League’s PSR limits and avoided a points deduction with the last-gasp sale of midfielder Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42.5m last June.

The likelihood of having to sell another key player has increased after missing out on the Champions League, while the issue of complying with Uefa’s cost control measures have also been made more acute. 

Clubs competing in Europe next season are permitted to spend just 70 per cent of their revenue on transfer fees, salaries and agents’ fees. Villa wages-to-income ratio in 2023-24 was more than 90 per cent and they are expected to be fined by Uefa for exceeding this season’s levels.

“Being in the Champions League is better because we can have more money and it's important as well,” said Emery.

“But being in the Europa League I think we can feel happy and comfortable because in the process we are, we can add for the next season another way for a trophy, another way to share with our supporters good moments.”

Villa are projected to be among the top seeds for the Europa League draw, which takes place at the end of August.

Emery continued: “To be in Europe is the most important for us and then try to continue our development, our process. 

“Of course being in the Champions League is better but the Europa League is something I arrived here two years and a half ago, to achieve it then would have been fantastic, it was our dream.”

Villa have written to the Premier League’s officiating body, PGMOL, to express concerns about the selection of Thomas Bramall for Sunday’s costly defeat at United.

The referee became the centre of attention after Villa, who needed only a draw to finish in the top five and qualify for the Champions League, had what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out when the game was goal-less.

Bramall blew his whistle before Morgan Rogers’ shot crossed the line, ruling the Villa player had fouled United keeper Altay Bayindir. Replays suggested the challenge was fair.

In a statement, Villa described Bramall’s blunder as a “major contributing factor” in their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The club say Bramall, 35, was the second least experienced referee officiating in the league on the final day.

The statement read: “Ultimately, we acknowledge that the outcome for us will not change, but we believe that it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure that high stakes matches are treated as such with regards to officiating and to ensure that the implemented VAR technology is allowed to be effective.”