GrowinginterestinMartinezfromManUtdandBarcelona
ManchesterUnitedandBarcelonahavereportedlysubmittedoffersforAstonVillagoalkeeperEmilianoMartinez,amidintensifyingspeculationoverhisfutureatVillaPark.The32-year-old,aWorldCupwinnerwithArgentinaandtwo-timerecipientofFIFA’sBestGoalkeeperaward,isunderstoodtobeconsideringhisnextmoveafterahighlyemotionalweekendperformance.
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MartinezwasseenintearsfollowingVilla’s2-0winoverTottenhamonSaturday,sparkingsuggestionsthatthefixturecouldbehisfinalappearanceinfrontofthehomecrowd.
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AccordingtoDSports inArgentina,bothUnitedandBarcahavemadeformaloffers,withthegoalkeepersaidtohavethreepotentialtransferproposalscurrentlyonthetable.
¡EL DIBU: EN LA MIRA DE DOS GIGANTES! 🔥
🧤 Emiliano Martínez tiene ofertas de Manchester United y Barcelona para dejar Aston Villa.
¿En qué equipo crees que continuará su carrera? 🤔
ℹ️ @fczyz
📷 AVFC pic.twitter.com/fiM3RHgjvH
— DSPORTS (@DSports) May 18, 2025
ChampionsLeagueambitionsruleoutSaudiswitch
WhileMartinezhasalsobeenlinkedwithahigh-valuemovetotheSaudiProLeague,reportsfromOle indicatehewouldprefertoremaininEuropeanfootballtocontinuecompetingintheChampionsLeague.ThatpreferencecouldfurthersolidifytheprospectsofaswitchtoeitherOldTraffordorCampNou.
MartinezjoinedVillafromArsenalin2020andhasplayedatransformativeroleintheirresurgenceunderUnaiEmery.HisperformanceshavenotonlyelevatedhisreputationgloballybutalsohelpedpositionVillawithinreachofconsistentEuropeanqualification.Despitethis,hisfuturenowappearsuncertainastheclubnavigatesfinancialconstraints.
FinancialrealityforcesVillaintodifficultdecision
SourcessuggestVillamaybeforcedintoasaleduetothePremierLeague’sProfitandSustainabilityRules (PSR). Theclubneedtogenerateasignificanttransferfeebeforethe30Junedeadline,withMartinezidentifiedasoneofthefewassetscapableofdeliveringtherequiredfinancialreturn.
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Inanticipationofhispossibledeparture,Villahavebegunlookingatalternatives.EspanyolgoalkeeperJoanGarcia,whohasalsoattractedinterestfromArsenalinthepast,isamongthosebeingmonitoredasalong-termsuccessor.
UnaiEmeryremainsnon-committal
VillaheadcoachUnaiEmery,whenaskedaboutMartinez’sfuture,offeredatypicallycautiousresponse. “Wewillsee.Ofcourse,itisthelastmatchhere [thisseason]andIdon’tknow.Wewillseeabouttheteam,theplayers,butofcourse,theyarerespondingonthefield.”
WithMartinez’scontractrunninguntil2029,Villaholdastrongnegotiatingposition.However,withinterestfromtwoEuropeangiantsandtheneedforrevenuepressing,ahigh-profilesummertransferappearsincreasinglyplausible.