I’m not Europa League ‘king’, says Unai Emery as he bids to lead Villa to glory

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery insists he is not the “king” of the Europa League as he bids to win the competition for a fifth time when his side face Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Villa have impressed in Europe under the Spaniard, reaching the Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and the last eight of the Champions League last year, while they now stand just one game away from their first major trophy in 30 years.

Emery has been hailed as a specialist in the Europa League after winning it three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal but says past glories will count for nothing against Bundesliga side Freiburg at Besiktas Park.

He told a pre-match press conference: “I am not a king in this competition.

“I am now with Aston Villa in a new chapter and everything I did is done. It’s there in that moment, but with it I am not winning tomorrow.

“I need to win tomorrow with the players we have now, with Aston Villa now, with the opponent we face tomorrow. So it’s a new way, a new moment and hopefully a new era.

“I don’t want to speak a lot about the thing we did before.

“Now, this year, and the matches we played before in the Conference League or in the Champions League, and they are showing the capacity to play at a high level.”

Emery has transformed Villa since he replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022, taking them from battling relegation to fighting for titles.

His side now have a chance to cap a memorable season which has brought Champions League qualification with the club’s first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup and first continental crown since their European Cup triumph in 1982.

Emery knows his players will feel pressure but wants them to embrace the feeling of playing in high-profile