Prince of Wales’ joy as Aston Villa players go wild about qualifying for Champions League

The Prince of Wales has joined the celebrations after Aston Villa secured a place in the Champions League for the first time, following Manchester City’s win over Tottenham Hotspur.

City’s 2-0 victory means Spurs can no longer catch Unai Emery’s team in fourth place in the Premier League – the final qualifying spot for the Champions League.

The Tuesday night match was screened during Aston Villa’s end-of-season awards dinner. There were wild celebrations when Erling Haaland scored City’s goal from the penalty spot, with Emiliano Martínez, Villa’s colourful Argentine goalkeeper, setting the tone for the evening as he showered guests and team-mates in champagne.

And the club’s royal supporter, Prince William, who adopted Aston Villa as his football team when he was a boy at Eton because he wanted a team “that could give him the emotional rollercoaster” of a mid-table side was quick to pass on his congratulations to Emery and his players.

The Prince sent a message on X from the Kensington Royal account, saying:

The party will go on into the night in Birmingham with the Champions League anthem playing at the awards bash with the usually reserved Emery also joining in the celebrations with gusto.

Villa have not qualified for the Champions League in its current format but were European champions back in 1982.

It is a remarkable achievement given the team were in a relegation battle when Emery took over as manager in October 2022 and there is a strong argument to make that the Spaniard should be named manager of the year.

That fight looks like a straight shoot-out between Emery and Pep Guardiola, whose City’s side stand on the verge of becoming the first team to be crowned English champions four years in a row.