Soccer-McGinn says drinks are on Prince William after Villa win Europa League


Soccer Football - UEFA Europa League - Final - SC Freiburg v Aston Villa - Besiktas Park, Istanbul, Turkey - May 20, 2026 Britain's Prince William applauds in the stands after Aston Villa wins the UEFA Europa League REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

May 21 (Reuters) - Aston Villa ⁠captain John McGinn had a royal request after ⁠the English club ended their 30-year wait for silverware ‌by winning the Europa League – asking fan Prince William to get out his credit card for the post-match celebrations.

Youri Tielemans,Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers ​scored as Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in ⁠Wednesday's final, with one ⁠of the club's most famous fans, Prince William, celebrating the ⁠victory ‌in the stands.

"He is a classy guy. He was in the dressing room before the game. He ⁠is a massive Villa fan so he was ​never going to ‌miss it," McGinn told TNT Sports.

"He is just a ⁠normal guy. ​It's great to have his support and hopefully it continues and tonight he can have a couple of drinks with us ⁠and maybe get his credit card ​out at the end of the night."

William, 43, took to social media after the win to congratulate Villa, who last won ⁠a European trophy in 1982 when they won both the European Cup and Super Cup.

"Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club," ​he wrote.

"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."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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