Prince William Stops By Aston Villa’s Locker Room — and Captain John McGinn Had a Hilarious Request
Aston Villa captain John McGinn jokingly made a request to Prince William after the club’s historic Europa League victory.
Aston Villa ended their 44-year European trophy dry spell on Wednesday night after winning the Europa League against German team SC Freiburg. Amid the sea of fans and the team celebrating, there was one royal joining in too, and it came as no surprise. According to Villa captain John McGinn, Prince William was inside the dressing room ahead of the game to share some encouraging words. However, the interaction led McGinn to make this one request to the Prince of Wales.
Goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia, and Morgan Rogers helped Aston Villa cruise past Freiburg in Istanbul and lift the Europa League trophy. Inside Tupras Stadium, William was right there in the stands with his friends, celebrating the massive win just like any other Villa fan. McGinn said, as reported by the Daily Mail, “He's a classy guy.”
He continued, “He was in the dressing room before the game. He's a massive Villa fan, so he was never going to miss it, and it's obviously great to have his support.” McGinn then went on to crack a joke that surely tickled the funny bone: “He's just a normal guy—hopefully tonight he can have a couple of drinks with us and get his credit card out at the end of the night!” Although we do not know for sure, it is quite possible for William to join the festivities and surely reach for his pocket.
William took to social media to congratulate the team and wrote, “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!” The team won its first major European trophy since winning the European Cup in 1982, which is the same year the future king was born.
He continued, “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.” Earlier this month, he was spotted in the stands celebrating Villa’s 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, which secured the club a place in the Europa League final. Just days later, William was back at Wembley Stadium in London to watch Chelsea take on Manchester City during the 2026 Emirates FA Cup final.
Even though William is known for being a huge soccer fan, his appearance at the match was as a patron of the Football Association. He regularly shows up to games and also presents the trophy to the winners. Now, there has been growing buzz that he could soon be heading to the United States for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
Royal author Christopher Andersen suggested that William might make it a family trip, and George is especially excited because he is also “a passionate soccer fan.” Anderson continued, “This would mark the first known visit to the U.S. by two future kings traveling together.”
