Kylian Mbappe shows Aston Villa justified over Emiliano Martinez summer decision
Don Goodman believes Aston Villa are justified in their decision to block Emiliano Martinez from competing for Argentina at the Olympic Games.
Martinez was not part of the Argentina squad named on Wednesday (3 July) for the upcoming competition in France.
Villa are said to have told their first-choice goalkeeper he would not be able to represent his country [Shropshire Star, 4 July].
That is the same stance taken by Real Madrid, who have prevented new signing Kylian Mbappe from playing for France in his home Games.
Asked about Villa’s decision, Goodman told Villa News: “Ultimately he’s Aston Villa’s player, and to lose one of your key players – which he very much is – for several weeks would not be fair on the club.
“You can understand the player’s ambition wanting to play in the Olympics, but the club has the final say – just look at Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappe and France.
“Bigger players than Emi Martinez are not going to the Olympics because they are contracted to their clubs, and it is the clubs with whom the power lies.
“I don’t think any player can be overly upset about that; you must accept it and carry on getting paid to do the job that you do.”
Aston Villa had no other option with Emiliano Martinez
Martinez is very passionate about playing for his country and would have loved to have helped his side to Olympic gold this summer.
However, the tournament overlaps with Villa’s pre-season plans and, more importantly, the start of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
Given the lack of top-quality back-up, Villa simply cannot afford to be without key player Martinez for one match, let alone multiple games.
It may well be that the 31-year-old has another chance to play for Argentina in the quadrennial competition next time around, but it was never going to happen this year.
In other Aston Villa news, Don Goodman has had his say on the Ian Maatsen deal.
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