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Aston Villa on the brink of the Premier League – how else did Chinese-owned football clubs fare this season?
- English season concludes with the Championship play-off final at Wembley, which could see Aston Villa pocket US$220 million
- Wolves, Wu Lei’s Espanyol, Lyon and Inter Milan join treble winners Manchester City in Europe but it was not all good news
Reading Time:7 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
With the European football season almost over it is the ideal time to review the fortunes of the clubs with Chinese investment.
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Focus elsewhere might be on the looming finals of the Uefa Champions League and Europa League but there is only big game left for Chinese-owned clubs.
Aston Villa take on Derby County in the English Championship play-offs final with the prize of a place in the English Premier League and £170 million (US$216 million).
Winning the richest game in football would be an accomplishment, especially when Villa fell at the same stage last year, but is it the biggest achievement by these clubs this season?
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Manchester City – 1st in English Premier League
They were run to the wire but they almost reached the impossibly high bar they set the season before notching up 98 points to take the title ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and won an unprecedented domestic treble. They fell to Spurs in the Champions League quarter-finals, but will be expected to be back challenging again next season. Pep Guardiola’s side also featured in a fly-on-the-wall Amazon documentary, All or Nothing. City are set to be investigated by the Premier League and Uefa over Financial Fair Play irregularities.
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