Elated Wills holds Europa League trophy as he celebrates Aston Villa triumph – after getting emotional at final whistle
AN elated Prince William celebrated Aston Villa’s historic Europa League triumph by holding the trophy with winning manager Unai Emery.
Wills, 43, was beaming after his beloved team won a stunning 3-0 victory in Istanbul last night and ended a three-decade drought without silverware.
The Prince was spotted applauding his side, embracing those around him and clapping after the final whistle was blown at Beşiktaş Park.
He was visibly emotional and seen rubbing his eyes at one point after the victory before filming the side’s trophy lift on his cellphone.
The football-mad royal also proclaimed he was “Villa ‘Til I Die” in a post on social media after the win.
He said: “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. Up the Villa, Villa ‘Til I Die. W.”
After his side lifted the trophy, Villa captain John McGinn joked: “Hopefully Prince William is paying for the free bar. He is a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before.
“He’s just a normal guy and it’s great to have his support.
“He can have a couple of drinks with us and maybe get his credit card out tonight!”
William watched on nervously in the lead-up to the first goal before going wild when it hit the back of the net as Villa stunned their opponents.
As the ball flew past the goalkeeper, he could be seen hugging those around him, shouting, and fist-pumping the air with sheer delight.
Freiburg had frustrated their opponents in the opening stages before Tielemans volleyed the ball home just inside the box with sublime precision.
Minutes later Emiliano Buendia curled a beauty into the top corner in front of the Freiburg end, sending the Villa fans into pandemonium before half-time.
With a huge 45 minutes ahead, Morgan Rogers added Villa’s third on the hour mark, rushing ahead of his man to finish at the front post.
The victory now means Villa boss Unai Emery has five Europa League titles to his name and may have never claimed one as easily as this.
But Prince William was seen visibly tense before the match as he was snapped in the stands holding his hand to his mouth in worry – by half-time he was left beaming with Villa 2-0 up.
He was spotted before kick-off waiting nervously for the game to begin with his side 90 minutes away from their first trophy since their League Cup victory in 1996.
But by the end of the night, the royal was pictured with Villa boss Unai Emery as they both posed for a photo with the Europa League trophy.
Wills had launched a dramatic dash across Europe to watch his his side lift the Europa League trophy on Wednesday.
He made sure to join an estimated 20,000 Villa fans who converged on Istanbul for the showdown against their German counterparts.
The FA’s royal patron embarked on a 3,900-mile round trip to make the 8pm kick-off before flying straight back to attend engagements in Cornwall.
The prince poured out his excitement as he awarded an OBE for services to drama to Little Britain star Matt Lucas at Windsor Castle before setting off.
Matt, 52, confided after the ceremony: “I asked him about football and whether he would be able to get to the cup final tomorrow that Aston Villa are playing in – and he said he can.”
The clash was Villa’s first European final since they beat Bayern Munich to win the European Cup in May 1982 – just weeks before Prince William was born.
Fans of the Brummie club snapped up their 10,758-ticket allocation in the 43,000-seat Besiktas Park Stadium within hours.
But thousands more flocked to the city without tickets to lap up the atmosphere – turning historic Taksim Square into a sea of claret and blue before kick-off.
Wills was seen jumping for joy as Villa sealed a 4-1 aggregate triumph over Forest and was spotted singing Sweet Caroline during the celebrations.
He joined coach Unai Emery’s squad celebrating in the changing rooms after the Forest semi.
He admitted to “bags under the eyes” the next morning when he and Kate hosted a Buckingham Palace garden party.
