Unai Emery’s Aston Villa future in doubt as talks begin with European powerhouse
Unai Emery is one of the best managers in the world, as Aston Villa fans know only too well.
Aston Villa are in a Premier League title race thanks to the Spaniard, and he has spent over three years building his side into one that can compete at the highest level.
Villa beat Newcastle 2-0 on Sunday, and the result leaves them just four points behind league leaders Arsenal in third place.
Emery is doing a remarkable job in B6, and it’s no shock that his impressive work is starting to get recognition across Europe.
However, this may mean that the Villans could lose him to another club in the very near future.
Real Madrid open talks to hire Unai Emery in the summer
Emery is under contract with Aston Villa until June 2029, although it is now uncertain whether he’ll see that out.
Sky Sports Germany journalist Patrick Berger has reported that Real Madrid have begun talks with the 54-year-old, and that he is on their shortlist for the summer.
The job he is doing at Villa has impressed the Spanish giants, and he is seen as a perfect candidate for the role.
Xabi Alonso was sacked as the Real Madrid manager on 12 January, leaving Alvaro Arbeloa in interim charge.
The 15-time Champions League winners plan to keep him at the helm until the end of the season, before appointing a permanent head coach.
It was only a matter of time before Emery would start to be linked elsewhere, and the Spaniard may crave the idea of returning to his homeland and managing the biggest club in world football.
Emery’s legacy at Aston Villa’s will be phenomenal
When Emery was hired in November 2022, he was tasked with dragging Villa out of the bottom half of the table.
He went on to achieve a seventh-placed finish in 2022-23, and they have gone from strength to strength ever since.
He has since finished in the top four and reached a Champions League quarter-final, and the Villa Park faithful are in awe of the job he has done.
| Manager | Years spent in charge | Win percentage |
| Unai Emery | 2022-present | 56.40% |
| George Ramsay | 1884-1926 | 49.59% |
| W. J. Smith | 1926-1934 | 48.08% |
| Jimmy Hogan | 1936-1939 | 45.97% |
| Graham Taylor | 1987-1990 | 45.77% |
One thing Emery hasn’t achieved in comparison to a lot of Villa’s all-time great managers is winning a trophy.
Although the Premier League title looks unlikely, the Europa League, a competition that he has won four times, looks to be their best bet.
Having also progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup, Villa have a good chance of winning silverware in 2025-26.
If Emery were to leave at the end of the season, lifting a trophy would cement him as one of Villa’s most influential managers in their 152-year history.
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