Prince William was among the Aston Villa fans celebrating their Europa League final win in Istanbul. Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 to win their first European trophy since 1982, ending a 30-year wait for silverware. The Prince of Wales showed his emotions throughout the final at Besiktas Park.
After Villa’s three goals, Prince William posted a message of congratulations, saying: “Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware! Special shout out to Boubacar Kamara who has been out injured but is such an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations of this success.”
Villa Fans and a Hollywood Message
An estimated 20,000 fans turned the Turkish city into ‘Astonbul’ as Villa secured their first Europa League title. Goals came from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers. Before the match, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks shared a message in support of Villa. In an eight-second clip sent to BBC Radio WM, the Hollywood star said: “This is Tom Hanks in the United States of America, thinking one thing and one thing only, go Villa.”
Prince William’s Villa Support
Prince William was spotted in the crowd celebrating as Villa beat Nottingham Forest earlier this month to secure their place in the Europa League final. He was seen soaking it all in before kick-off. Television cameras captured the prince celebrating as Villa took control of the trophy. The prince also captured the moment John McGinn hoisted the trophy.
McGinn’s Praise for the Prince
Villa captain McGinn labelled Prince William as “just a normal guy” after the win. He told TNT Sports: “He’s a classy man, he was in the dressing room before the game. He’s a massive Villa fan, he was never going to miss it. He’s just a normal guy, it’s great to have his support.”
The prince started supporting Villa during his school days in Berkshire, choosing a team further afield as he did not want to follow the crowd. He said he was looking for clubs and all his friends were either Manchester United fans or Chelsea fans.
Victory started a party, with a parade in Birmingham on Thursday.