‘I chatted to Prince William after Aston Villa win – here’s what I thought’ | Football | Sport

As if Aston Villa being crowned European champions once more wasn’t sufficiently glorious, majestic and euphoric, events took an altogether surreal turn. For some background, Dan Rolinson, our multimedia expert from the Claret and Blue podcast, and I had been invited to the final as guests of Flixbus, one of the tournament’s principal sponsors. That brought with it the tremendous privilege of actually being present to witness history unfold.

Yet it also meant we found ourselves in some rather splendid corporate seats right on the halfway line. Unai Emery and the Villa dugout were practically within arm’s reach, while the future king, Prince William himself, probably occupied inferior seats to ours, roughly 10 rows further back.

What transpired was this: before kick-off, as we settled into our seats, I was attempting, drawing upon my journalistic instincts, to position myself strategically in the hope of securing a selfie with Wills himself.

However, his security personnel made that impossible. They courteously explained to me, “No, because if we allow it for one, there’s going to be a queue of people.

“We don’t want that to happen. He’s here to watch the football,” — which was perfectly reasonable.

We found ourselves in the hospitality section, where Villa supporters were present, though not in great numbers. The majority of those in attendance were neutrals.

Consequently, Dan and I took it upon ourselves to channel the passion of the Villa end into the hospitality area: booing questionable refereeing decisions, and celebrating every Villa pass, tackle, shot and save — not that there was much need for many saves.

When Emi Buendia smashed — or rather, delicately clipped — that stunning second goal into the top corner, the atmosphere was electric.

Turning around to celebrate, we locked eyes with Prince William, who was giving it everything back at us, pointing and fist-pumping with unbridled enthusiasm.

He was staring directly in our direction, full of energy and excitement, matching our own jubilation with equal fervour. It was a truly wonderful moment.

Fast forward to the final whistle, and John McGinn, bless him, got his hands on that trophy amid a shower of ticker tape, with the players’ families flooding onto the pitch.

Every single player was thoroughly caught up in the celebrations — and why wouldn’t they be? The scenes with the Villa faithful were nothing short of joyous. Honestly, nothing could have prepared us for the sheer magnitude of it all.

We did our best to act as roving reporters, getting as close to the action as possible through YouTube live streams and Facebook videos. We were acutely aware of just how fortunate we were to be inside that stadium, and we were determined to give those watching from home a genuine taste of the extraordinary atmosphere.

So, we thought nothing of it and remained there for roughly an hour after the final whistle, soaking up the atmosphere. We then made our way back, intending to leave the stadium to record a post-match podcast.

As we wandered back, I caught Prince William’s eye once more, and he delivered another triumphant fist pump.

Then, all of a sudden — and this is where it got really, really weird — he summoned us, calling out, “Come on, come on, have a chat, come and join us. Dan, Mat.”

He actually called us by name — he knew who we were! “Come and have a chat.”

We scrambled over barriers to reach him, jostling through the crowd in a desperate bid to get there before the opportunity vanished.

We had to navigate through several blocks and across various seats, having already drifted some distance from where we had originally been sitting. But we got there. What an absolutely wonderful, warm-hearted man.

There is a YouTube video capturing the moment, and you can watch it all unfold in real time. But to summarise it briefly — he permitted us to film the encounter.

We spent three or four minutes chatting with him. He had actually read a rousing, passionate piece I had written for Birmingham Live that very morning. We discussed that, shared our emotions, and talked about how the last time Villa triumphed in Europe was the month before he was born.

Dan Rolinson asked him: “When are you coming on the podcast then?” He burst into laughter and replied” “I have been thinking about it, actually.”

He continued: “I love what you guys do.” I responded: “Come on, you are making this up. Come on.” He insisted: “I genuinely get my fix of Villa news from you, and from John Townley and his coverage.” It was truly exceptional.

That was the cherry on top. Naturally, being present to see Villa crowned champions of Europe once more was utterly magnificent, but discovering that Prince William is an admirer of our podcast and our output was something altogether different.

The one thing that truly elevated my evening, however, was alleviating the “dad guilt” I had carried for the previous 48 hours because my teenage son, Samuel, was unable to accompany us to Istanbul.

He had an A-level exam on the day of the match, so he was following proceedings in the Witton Arms with a few beers down him.

I was watching from inside the stadium, and we were swapping FaceTime calls so I could observe what was happening there, and he could see what was unfolding here. It was a genuinely uplifting connection.

I think the most effective way I relieved my dad guilt was just before we allowed Prince William to depart in peace. I enquired, “Can you send a message to my son Samuel, my nephew Alex, and my son’s friend Jack?”

True to his word, he obliged without hesitation. He sent a beautiful, beautiful message saying, “Sorry, lads, that you can’t be here, but what a night for Aston Villa. Up the Villa!” It was a brilliant, lovely message.

I then told my son: “I have a surprise for you. You have a goodwill message from the future King of England.”

His reaction was one of pure disbelief: “No, no, no, no, no.” So, in the early hours of the morning, as I made my way back through the sea of Claret and Blue celebrations, he was at home. I was able to fire this message across.

Moments later, a WhatsApp text pinged back from my son reading: “You are pretty cool, you are, aren’t you, Dad?” For me, that was my “John McGinn lifting the trophy” moment — knowing I had secured that special message for my son.

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page.