How Prince William celebrated with Aston Villa in Istanbul: Hotel after-party, dressing-room meet and Emery chats

William, Prince of Wales, was one of the more noticeable Aston Villa supporters in Istanbul as he watched the team win the Europa League against Freiburg on Wednesday night — and the UK’s future king then followed up by celebrating with the squad at their hotel.

Post-match, the prince travelled to where Villa’s team were staying in the Turkish city to toast the club’s first major trophy in three decades.

It was part of a short trip out to follow his favourite football team, including visiting to their dressing room before and after to wish them luck and then celebrate, as well as being pictured on TNT Sports — the broadcaster that screened the match back in the UK — jumping around in the stands when Villa scored in their 3-0 victory and posing with the club’s manager, Unai Emery.

The after-party, arranged for the players, their friends, families and agents, began once the squad returned from the stadium at about 2.30am (the match ended at about midnight local time) and continued until about 6am.

William, an avid Villa fan who has told other supporters he goes on fan forums using a secret identity, mingled with the squad and their relatives, along with Emery and his staff, happily chatting and enjoying a drink. Sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, said people were very impressed with his level of understanding and detail about the game.

In a social media post marking the victory on Wednesday, William singled out midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who had to miss the final through injury, for particular praise.

He had posed for photos with the trophy, manager Emery, director of football operations Damian Vidagany and players in the changing room afterwards.

Villa midfielder and captain John McGinn told TNT Sports: “He’s a classy guy. He was in the dressing room before the game. He’s a massive Villa fan, so was never going to miss it (this final). It’s great to have his support — he’s just a normal guy.”

William had also attended the previous Europa League match, the second leg victory against Nottingham Forest in Birmingham two weeks ago. “He was in there having a beer with us (in the changing room),” said full-back Matty Cash to Sky Sports. “He’s just delighted. To be fair, he’s such a big supporter.

“He’s always coming to the training ground, always at Villa Park. And he deserves moments like these and hopefully he can let his hair down today.”

Although the prince only attended his first match at Villa in November 2013 — sitting in then owner Randy Lerner’s private box — he has followed the club since his childhood, with his earliest experience as a fan being an FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton Wanderers on penalties in 2000. He is known to most of the players and has been to Bodymoor Heath, Villa’s training campus, to watch practice sessions.

William told supporters last year, over a drink at a Birmingham pub, that he keeps abreast of news relating to Villa through fan forums, podcasts and other Villa coverage. He has since reiterated this and has worked closely on several initiatives outside of football with their England international defender Tyrone Mings, with whom he has a good relationship.

“It’s weird because on game day, when he comes in, you focus on the game and you’re in the moment, and you don’t realise how big it is that he is coming in to greet everyone and shake his hand,” defender Ezri Konsa told reporters, including The Athletic, last week.

“Sometimes you get caught up in the moment, and you go home and think, ‘Flippin’ hell, I just shook his hand, and he knows my name and everything’. Having his support is brilliant, not just for the club but for the players as well. Some of the players didn’t know who he was beforehand, as they are from different countries, so for them to learn about him and know who he is, it is big.

“Ever since I joined, he has shown unreal support, coming into the changing room and showing us the utmost respect. Massive credit to him to come and watch us and support us.

“I don’t know much about his football knowledge, but he has called me a Rolls-Royce (of a player), though! I’ll take that. That got stuck in my head. It’s nice. Credit to him.”

“He had a vast knowledge of Villa,” Steve Jones, one of the fans who had a drink with William on that pub visit, told The Athletic last year.

“We brought up a couple of topics and he was very eloquent. He didn’t have to look up to his aides — he knew everything. We spoke about the recent West Ham game and the changes Emery made in the second half. He started talking about double pivots and how Emery moved Youri Tielemans’ position. We were like, ‘What?’.

“He was talking about possible transfers, who might leave and who might come. We spoke about PSR (football’s profitability and sustainability rules governing clubs’ finances) and Chelsea selling their women’s team. He admitted he would love to have more opinions on certain things within the game but he can’t in his role as president of the FA (the Football Association, which oversees the sport in England down to grassroots level).”

Villa were due to fly back to Birmingham on Thursday morning ahead of an open-top-bus trophy parade, which will take place in the city centre later in the afternoon.

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