Aston Villa face FFP probe over £56.7m sale of stadium to club owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens

ASTON VILLA are to be investigated by Prem chiefs over whether the sale of the stadium to club owners breached FFP rules.

The Midlands giants’ billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens bought Villa Park for £56.7million in May.

The deal was done via NSWE Stadium Ltd —a company controlled by the duo.

Sawiris and Edens then helped the then Championship club comply with the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.

Villa chief Christian Purslow told supporters in the summer that they had fully complied with the EFL’s regulations.

And the club claim the review is standard practice and part of assessments that all clubs face.

This comes as the EFL is set to conduct independent valuations over the sales by Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Reading of their grounds to their owners.

The three Championship clubs have been accused of exploiting a loophole in the rules regarding their stadiums in order to avoid making a pre-tax loss.

Leeds boss Andrea Radrizzani accused The Rams of “cheating” when owner Mel Morris bought Pride Park for £80m.

He then leased it back to the club, enabling them to achieve a £14.6m profit.

Derby have defended their actions, saying they conducted their own independent commercial valuation of the ground before selling it to Morris.