Unai Emery: Aston Villa Manager and Record Five-Time Europa League Winner
Unai Emery spent most of his playing years in Spain’s second tier, a left-sided midfielder few people outside the Basque Country would remember. Today he holds the record for most UEFA Europa League titles with five, and this week his name has been searched more than 200 times a day in Nigeria and more than 100 times in Kenya after reports linked him with Manchester United.
This profile follows the Aston Villa manager from a small town on the French border through Lorca, Valencia, Sevilla, Paris, Arsenal and Villarreal to Villa Park, and sets out clearly what has been reported about United and what has not.
Quick facts
- Full name: Unai Emery Etxegoien
- Born: 3 November 1971, Hondarribia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
- Role: Head coach of Aston Villa, appointed October 2022; contract extended to 2029 in May 2024
- Playing career: Left-sided midfielder, mostly in the Spanish Segunda División; retired in 2004 at Lorca Deportiva
- Coaching clubs: Lorca Deportiva, AlmerÃa, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Villarreal, Aston Villa
- Europa League titles: Five (Sevilla 2014, 2015 and 2016; Villarreal 2021; Aston Villa 2026)
- Other business: Majority shareholder of Spanish third-tier club Real Unión since 2021
A modest playing career and a sudden change of direction
Emery was born in Hondarribia and grew up speaking Basque. He came through the youth system at Real Sociedad but made only five La Liga appearances for them. After that he moved around the lower divisions, playing 215 games and scoring nine goals in seven seasons in the Segunda División before finishing at Lorca Deportiva in the third tier at 32. A short stay at Burgos ended before he played a competitive match, because the club could not afford to keep several of its signings.
The switch to coaching came by accident. While at Lorca in 2004-05 he suffered a serious knee injury, and the club’s president offered him the vacant manager’s job. Lorca won promotion to the second division for the first time in their history that season, and the team also knocked out top-flight Málaga in the Copa del Rey. Emery was given the Miguel Muñoz Trophy as the division’s best coach. Lorca finished fifth in their first year in the second tier, five points off promotion, and went down in 2007 after he had left.
AlmerÃa and Valencia
AlmerÃa gave him his next break. In 2007 he took them up to La Liga for the first time, and they finished eighth the following season, which was enough to attract Valencia. He replaced Ronald Koeman there for 2008-09 and took the club to sixth despite its financial problems.
The next three seasons were consistent. Valencia finished third in 2009-10 and again in 2010-11, even after David Villa and David Silva were sold to Barcelona and Manchester City, and a third consecutive third place followed in 2011-12. Along the way his teams lost two European knockout ties to Atlético Madrid, the eventual winners of the Europa League in both years. He left in June 2012 when his contract was not renewed.
Six months in Moscow and the Sevilla years
His next job went badly. Emery took charge at Spartak Moscow in July 2012 on a two-year deal and was sacked on 25 November, after a 5-1 home defeat by Dynamo Moscow. It remains one of the few clear failures on his record.
He returned to Spain in January 2013 to replace MÃchel at Sevilla, and the club’s fortunes changed. Sevilla won the Europa League in 2014, beating Benfica on penalties. A year later they beat Dnipro, and in 2016 they came from a goal down at half-time to beat Liverpool 3-1 in Basel, with Kevin Gameiro and two goals from Coke. Three consecutive titles was a first for the competition. When Emery told the club he wanted to leave, Sevilla announced the split in June 2016.
Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal
PSG appointed him in June 2016 to succeed Laurent Blanc. He won the Trophée des Champions in his first match, a 4-1 win against Lyon, and the Coupe de la Ligue in April 2017. The Champions League was the problem. PSG beat Barcelona 4-0 at home in 2017 but lost 6-1 in the second leg, and in 2018 they were knocked out by Real Madrid. In his second season, though, PSG won all four domestic trophies: the league, the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue and the Trophée des Champions. He announced he would leave at the end of that campaign, and Thomas Tuchel replaced him.
Arsenal followed in May 2018, replacing Arsène Wenger. A run of 22 games unbeaten included a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal reached the Europa League final, where they lost 4-1 to Chelsea. They finished fifth. The second season ended with a winless run of seven games and his dismissal on 29 November 2019, after a 2-1 home defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt. Freddie Ljungberg took over on an interim basis.
Villarreal and a fourth Europa League
Villarreal hired him in July 2020 on a three-year deal. In May 2021 they knocked out Arsenal in the Europa League semi-final, and then beat Manchester United in the final in Gdańsk, 11-10 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. That gave Emery a fourth title, a record. He turned down an approach from Newcastle United that November, saying he was committed to Villarreal. The following season Villarreal beat Juventus and Bayern Munich on the way to the Champions League semi-finals, where Liverpool stopped them.
Aston Villa
Villa paid a reported €6 million to Villarreal for him in October 2022, when they were 16th in the Premier League after a poor start under Steven Gerrard. He won his first match, 3-1 against Manchester United. Villa finished seventh that season, the team scored in each of its first 20 league games under him, a Premier League record for a manager’s opening run, and he was named Manager of the Month in April 2023.
The next year Villa finished fourth and returned to the Champions League for the first time since 1982-83. Emery extended his contract to 2027 in April 2024 and to 2029 a month later. In 2024-25 Villa reached the Champions League quarter-finals before losing 5-4 on aggregate to his former club PSG, the eventual winners, and missed out on a return to the competition on the final day.
The 2025-26 season began with no wins in the first five league games, but Villa then won eight league games in a row and equalled the club record of eleven straight wins in all competitions. On 7 May 2026 Villa reached a European final for the first time in 44 years, and on 20 May they beat Freiburg 3-0 to win the Europa League. It was Emery’s fifth title in the competition. Villa also qualified for this season’s Champions League. After the season his long-time assistant Pako Ayestarán left.
Why his name is trending now
Manchester United have had their worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years and lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday. The Guardian reported on 22 October that Emery and Julian Nagelsmann were leading targets if the board decided to replace Michael Carrick. BBC Sport’s gossip column, citing the i newspaper, described him as one of United’s “dream” candidates. The Guardian added that Villa would demand roughly £20 million in compensation. As of 26 October, United had not announced a change of manager and no source we found quoted Emery on the subject.
His own club’s form is the other half of the story. Villa beat Club Brugge and Fenerbahçe in the Champions League and then Viking 3-1 on 21 October, three wins from three, and they beat Manchester City 2-1 in the league on 24 October.
How his teams play
What stands out in Emery’s record is knockout football. He has won the Europa League five times with three different clubs and took Arsenal to another final. The record has a less comfortable side as well: two Champions League exits in the round of 16 at PSG, a second season at Arsenal that ended in dismissal and a spell in Moscow that lasted six months.
Career timeline
- 2004-2006: Lorca Deportiva, promotion to the second division.
- 2006-2008: AlmerÃa, first promotion to La Liga.
- 2008-2012: Valencia, three third-place finishes.
- 2013-2016: Sevilla, three Europa League titles.
- 2016-2018: PSG, domestic quadruple in 2017-18.
- 2018-2019: Arsenal, Europa League runner-up.
- 2020-2022: Villarreal, fourth Europa League title.
- 2022-present: Aston Villa, fifth Europa League title in 2026.
What we could not verify
- Whether Manchester United have contacted Emery or Aston Villa. The reports we found are sourced to unnamed people and describe United’s thinking, not any approach.
- The size of any compensation payment. The £20 million figure is a reported estimate, not a published clause.
- Whether Emery would want to leave Villa. We found no on-the-record comment from him on United.
- Whether Michael Carrick will be dismissed at all. At the time of writing, the club had not announced a decision.
- His salary or personal wealth, which we do not publish.
Sources
- The Guardian
- BBC Sport
- Sky Sports
- Associated Press
- UEFA
- Aston Villa
- Wikipedia
