Prince William and Prince George watched Aston Villa from Barcelona's directors' box at the Spotify Camp Nou as Villa faced Barcelona in the Champions League. The setting was a little more extravagant than William's explanation for his club loyalty, but the reasoning was the same one he has repeated before: he wanted the ups and downs.
William's reason for choosing Villa
"A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams," William said in comments published by dailymail.com. "I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments."
That line fits the way he has followed Villa over the years. He was at the Europa League final at Besiktas Stadium last season, has watched the club at Villa Park and in Paris, and one of his first FA Cup matches was Bolton v Aston Villa in 2000.
Villa's night in Barcelona
The match gave that loyalty a big stage. Barcelona's renovated Camp Nou cost £1.25billion, and Lamine Yamal put the home side 1-0 up in the seventh minute.
Villa arrived with real momentum in Europe, having won all 3 of their Champions League league-phase matches before the trip. Barcelona were 9th in the league phase on 6 points from 3 matches, and they had also scored 11 goals in their last 3 Champions League games.
William had been in Istanbul last week to watch Villa beat Fenerbahce, so this was another high-profile stop on the same European run. The club's form has turned his long-standing support into a very visible Champions League storyline, and the next trip is still likely to draw the same attention. Barcelona's league-phase place and Villa's perfect start are the two facts to keep in view.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
