Aston Villa set to bank share of £118m windfall as transfer plans accelerate
Aston Villa are set to bank a helpful sum of money for allowing their players to represent their countries at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer. While for many of the Lions squad the summer means holidaying and a time to relax before the turbulent schedule restarts again, for Villa's internationals - aside from Copa America participants Douglas Luiz and Emiliano Martinez - there is competitive football at hand.
Villa had four players, in all, called up by various nations at the Euros. It might've been more; we'll never know if Tyrone Mings might've gone had he had a full season playing at the heart of defence. Equally, Matty Cash would have represented Poland had he not picked up an injury. Perhaps Boubacar Kamara and France, too. Robin Olsen's Sweden didn't qualify, while Pau Torres didn't get the call from Spain.
Anyway, the remaining quartet were as you'd have expected; Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa were both selected by Gareth Southgate to represent England, while John McGinn is playing for Steve Clarke's Scotland and Youri Tielemans has appeared for his native Belgium. Similarly to the World Cups in Qatar and Russia, Villa are set to benefit for releasing those players who are - as with every match for club or country - at risk of injury.
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Via what is known as the Club Benefits Programme, in the region of £118m has been made available by UEFA to all clubs from various member associations - including the FA. Each player, irrespective of how much game time they are handed in the group stages, will earn their respective clubs around £140,000 over the course of the group stage - and that naturally increases each day that their country spends in the tournament.
For England, who used Watkins from the bench on Thursday against Denmark, that's likely to be the case ahead of their final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday, but for McGinn's Scotland and Tielemans' Belgium there is work to do if they're to qualify for the last 16 and extend their time competing.
As a minimum, then, Villa will be sent in the region of £560,000 by UEFA for allowing Watkins, Konsa, McGinn and Tielemans to feature in the Euros, as a part of the overall pot from which hundreds of clubs from around the continent are set to benefit from.
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