Former Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry has stated that he believes the club's supporters would prioritise winning the Europa League over securing Champions League qualification through their Premier League position. Unai Emery's side return to top-flight action tonight when they host relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park.
A single victory could be sufficient to guarantee a top-five finish and direct entry into Europe's elite competition next season. However, the Europa League remains within Villa's grasp despite their defeat to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday night. Chris Wood's second-half penalty gave Vitor Pereira's team a slender advantage heading into next week's second leg at Villa Park.
Much of the modern football narrative places great emphasis on securing Champions League football, but Barry believes Villa supporters would prefer to end their 30-year wait for a trophy. He said via BetMGM: "From my history as a player and now as a fan I would swap qualifying for the Champions League via league position for winning a trophy. I think any trophy for Villa fans because you are at that period now where you just want to win a trophy. So I think I speak for a lot of Villa fans when I say winning a trophy would come before qualifying for other things."
Emery has been widely praised for his work since taking over from Steven Gerrard as Aston Villa boss in 2022. While Barry admits he is concerned the Spaniard might one day depart Villa Park, he does not believe there are many clubs where Emery would have the same level of control. The former England international added: "As a Villa fan, I am massively concerned because he's been behind all that Villa has achieved the past couple of years. The job he has done has been incredible, and from the outside, what I am hearing is he loves to be in control of everything, so for me that is a positive because he has that control at Villa. He's making all the decisions, but whether he can get that at other clubs, I am not so sure, but yeah, it is a concern. Every fan at Aston Villa knows what a great manager Unai Emery is, and he has got the club in such a good position."
Barry concluded: "Whether the Champions League is a factor for him, I'm not too sure, but hopefully not, but even if it is, I am confident that Villa can get that, especially with fifth place now available."
