Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 1 June 2026 18:30, UK

Matty Cash has shared an image of John McGinn on the Aston Villa flight home after being crowned champions of Europe, and it looks as though the celebrations caught up with the skipper.

That night in Istanbul on 20 May will be remembered forever by everyone connected with Aston Villa.

1982 was the last time Villa lifted a European trophy, but thanks to a superb Europa League campaign crowned by a convincing 3-0 win over Freiburg, that wait came to a brilliant end.

Goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealed the victory, and the celebrations went long into the Turkish night.

It was an Aston Villa win worth partying hard for, and that’s certainly what McGinn appears to have done, although a cheeky Instagram post from his comrade suggests he probably had a sore head afterwards.

What did Matty Cash post of John McGinn?

After winning the Europa League on Wednesday night, with the celebrations going long into the night, the party didn’t stop there for Aston Villa’s players.

Indeed, the following day saw them parading the trophy through Birmingham on an open-top bus parade, with thousands of fans lining the streets to welcome their heroes home.

Since the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, many Villa players have been enjoying some well-earned rest, one of whom being Cash, who isn’t going to the World Cup this summer after Poland were unable to qualify.

And, in a recent Instagram post, the defender has shared a series of photos documenting some of the things he’s been up to after the season ended, as well as a few snapshots of Villa’s Europa League celebrations.

One of those was an image of McGinn on what appears to be Villa’s flight back from Istanbul, and the Scotsman won’t thank his teammate for sharing it to his close to one million Instagram followers.

It showed McGinn asleep on the plane with his winners’ medal around his neck, whilst holding a can of beer in his left hand as well as expertly balancing another on his lap.

Cash captioned the post with: “Why save the good stuff for later.”

How important was McGinn to Villa’s Europa League success?

If there was any Aston Villa player who had earned himself a bit of shuteye – and the two beers – after the Villans’ Europa League win, it was McGinn.

There’s no doubt that McGinn is a modern-day Villa legend, and captaining the club to European glory only further cements his place among the Villa Park greats.

He finished the 2025-26 European campaign as Villa’s top goalscorer with five in the competition, as well as providing two assists from 12 appearances.

McGinn grabbed an assist for Buendia’s goal in the final, whilst his double in the semi-final second leg were crucial to his sides’ progression past Nottingham Forest.

To put it simply, without McGinn, Aston Villa probably wouldn’t have won the Europa League, and at 31, he’s showing no signs of slowing down either as he now looks to lead Scotland to success at the World Cup.