[2][3] A week later, Rémi Garde agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal to become manager of the bottom of table Premier League side.

[4] Six days later, in Garde's first match in charge, his new team drew 0–0 with league leaders Manchester City.

[6] On 29 March 2016, with Villa still bottom of the league, Garde left the club by mutual consent.

[8] The club were relegated from the top flight of English football for the first time since the 1986–87 season following an away loss to Manchester United on 16 April 2016, having been one of seven remaining sides (along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur) who had not been relegated since the Premier League's inception in 1992 at the beginning of the 2015–16 season.

[9] On 18 May 2016, it was announced that Tony Xia's Recon Group had agreed to buy Aston Villa for a reported £60 million from American businessman Randy Lerner, with the club becoming part of Recon Group's Sports, Leisure and Tourism division.