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Aston Villa paid £4m to fans due to behind closed doors football

Villa paid £4million back to supporters after football was forced behind closed doors last season.

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Figures in the club’s accounts for the 2019-20 campaign also reveal Villa paid a rebate of £9.9m to broadcasters when the finish to the season was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Villa revealed earlier this month a total operating loss of £99.2m for the financial year ending May 31 2020, with the impact of the pandemic on revenues estimated at £36.1m.

The full accounts, posted at Companies House this week, provide further detail, including the level to which supporters were reimbursed after being shut out of the club’s final six home matches.

In total £2.7million was paid back to season ticket holders, with the club handing back a further £1.3m in matchday ticket sales.

Despite the pandemic hitting revenues, Villa remain debt free thanks to the backing of billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, who pumped a further £126.4m into the club.

That, coupled with increased broadcast revenues in the Premier League, allowed Villa to splash out £155.9m on players after winning promotion back to the top flight in 2019.

The accounts reveal Villa spent a further £109.4m on players during the two most recent transfer windows, including a £28m club record deal for Ollie Watkins and the £20m purchase of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal.

Just £7.4m was recouped on player sales, the largest being that of Mbwana Samatta to Fenerbahce on an initial loan deal.

Further expenditures included the payment of £2.6m in rent to NSWE Stadiums Ltd, the company owned by Sawiris and Edens which bought Villa Park for £56.7m in 2019.

Villa's wage bill climbed from £95m to £109m, a relatively modest increase considering the outlay on signings but still 97 per cent of the club's £112m turnover for the year.