Prince William has been offering words of encouragement in the dressing room to his beloved Aston Villa players ahead of their Europa League final in Istanbul.
Villa are aiming to end a 30-year wait for a European trophy at Besiktas Park on Wednesday night, and will hope their tag as favourites – along with the backing of one of the world’s most recognisable figures in the stands – helps carry them over the line.
Looking smart in a suit jacket and blue shirt, William wore a nervous look on his face as he headed down the tunnel an hour before kick-off to speak to the players.
In the lead-up to the game against German side Freiburg, defender Ezri Konsa said that William referring to him as a ‘Rolls-Royce’ counted as the greatest compliment of his career, and that the team were grateful for his support.
‘It’s weird because on game day when he comes in you’re focused on the game a lot, so sometimes you’re in the moment and you don’t realise how big it is that you have got him coming in to greet everyone, shaking everyone’s hand,’ said Konsa, a regular for Villa and England.
‘You go home and think: “Flipping hell, I just shook his hand, he knows my name”. It’s massive and to have his support is brilliant for the club and the players.
Looking smart in a suit jacket and blue shirt, William wore a nervous look on his face as he headed down the tunnel an hour before kick-off to speak to the players
Prince William offered his beloved Aston Villa team words of encouragement before their Europa League showdown with Freiburg
‘He called me a Rolls-Royce once. That got stuck in my head. I’ll take that all day. It was really nice.
‘I’m sure he’d know every player’s name … since I joined he has been showing unreal support, coming into the changing room, greeting everyone and showing everyone the utmost respect. Massive credit to him for taking his time to come and watch us and support us.’
The Prince of Wales has been vocal in his support of Unai Emery’s side ahead of the final, taking to social media before the match to deliver a rallying cry: ‘Come on Villa! Good luck in tonight’s Europa League final. UTV! W’.
This followed his passionate showing at the semi-final, where he was seen enthusiastically punching the air as Villa despatched Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 to book their place in Wednesday night’s final.
A passionate Villa supporter since his school days, William once explained how he chose the club while studying in Berkshire, resisting the pull of more popular teams.
‘A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams,’ he told the BBC in 2015.
England and Villa defender Ezri Konsa praised the importance of Prince William’s support prior to kick-off
‘I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.’
William was born 26 days after Villa’s last victory European Cup final win against Bayern Munich on 26 May 1982.
