Prince William was present for Aston Villa’s Europa League final victory and made a quick dive into the changing room just before the game as John McGinn paid tribute
Prince William enjoyed being a part of the Aston Villa celebrations as the future king found himself drinking beers as part of the dressing room party after they secured Europa League glory
The Prince of Wales is a lifelong Villa fan and has been seen at some of their most momentous occasions. He was present in Istanbul for their final success, where they dispatched of German side Freiburg to win a first major trophy since 1996.
It is also their first European success since 1982 with Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia scoring first-half goals to lay the foundation. Morgan Rogers added the gloss in the second-half as William cut an emotional figure in the stands.
He was invited to be part of the post-game celebrations. Matty Cash admitted that he was enjoying beers with the players in the dressing room. “He deserves moments like these and hopefully he can let his hair down,” said the full-back.
READ MORE: Prince William’s emotional reaction as Aston Villa win first European trophy in 44 yearsREAD MORE: Aston Villa win first trophy in 30 years as Unai Emery extends Europa League record
The Prince was later pictured alongside Unai Emery, who won his fifth Europa League, and Villa director Damian Vidagany as the trio shared a picture with the massive trophy.
McGinn revealed that William had quickly engaged with the players before kick-off. The Scot hailed his character and joked that he was welcome to join them for celebratory drink as long as he picked up the bill. McGinn said on TNT Sports: “He’s a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game. He’s a massive Villa fan so was never going to miss it, its great to have his support, he’s just a normal guy.”
The Villa ace admitted he hoped to have the royal join them: “Hopefully he can have a couple of drinks with us and get his credit card out at the end of the night.”
Prince William has previously brought his son to games, leading to some iconic images, and he hailed Villa’s efforts whilst also giving a mention to one of their notable absentees.
He said on social media: “Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware! Special shout out to Boubacar Kamara who has been out injured but is such an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations of this success…UTV (Up the Villa), VTID (Villa till I die).”
The party didn’t stop there either, with the wife of Villa defender Victor Lindelof sharing an image of William partying with the team’s family and friends. Maja Lindelof posted the image on her social media story along with a caption that translates to ‘off the rails’.
Villa’s stunning season had already seen them secure a return to the Champions League even before their victory in the Europa League final. On the final day they can wrap up fourth spot as Unai Emery continues to excel in the Midlands as he further etches his name into Europe’s secondary tournament.
He said: “All the times I am successful in this competition I needed good players. Now I am so thankful for the players, they are following our ambitions. They are protagonists on the field. This is the reason I am not feeling the king in this competition. I am feeling really thankful – we are the kings together.
“After 1982 the club won the European Cup, it was something they were missing – the supporters – a trophy. Achieving this one is making us so, so happy but we are not going to stop.”
Villa’s official ticket allocation was 10,758 but 20,000 travelled to Turkey and crammed into the bars and cafes off Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square with celebrations going on long into the night.
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