John McGinn of Aston Villa
John McGinn of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)
John McGinn is relishing his return to the Camp Nou with Aston Villa, having last visited Barcelona on a stadium tour while on holiday as an eight-year-old on the day Ricardo Quaresma signed for the Catalan giants.
McGinn, who lifted the Europa League trophy for Villa back in May, will lead his teammates out in front of around 60,000 fans as Unai Emery’s side look to write more history in what is their fourth successive year in European football.
Playing in the Champions League in two of the past three seasons, Villa have once again won each of their three opening league phase matches in UEFA’s elite club competition, just like they did in 2024/25.
Defeating Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Viking FK, Villa are only one of five teams to have a perfect record so far this Champions League campaign, but that record will be put to the ultimate test against Barcelona in the Camp Nou.
“I’ve been here once,” McGinn recalled. "I used to go on holiday in Fuerteventura and Salou and I was here on a stadium tour the day Ricardo Quaresma signed for Barcelona. I've never been since, but I'm excited to represent Aston Villa on the big stage.
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“The trajectory has allowed me to dream like I was aged nine, 10, 11, to play in front of the biggest crowds and arenas. What the club is trying to do now is make this journey and make it a yearly experience and compete with the best in England and Europe.
“It’s a pleasure to be on this journey with the supporters, and I am sure they will enjoy today and tomorrow, but we will only enjoy the experience if we win three points.”
Villa lost over half of the starting XI that played in the Europa League final against Freiburg and signed 10 new players for Emery in the summer.
“It was a very difficult start, there was a lot of change, but the new players realise that the structure gives them the best chance to show their capacity,” the captain added. “New players are playing with confidence, but importantly, playing for the team. No one player is bigger than the other. We play, defend and attack as a team.
“We have a demanding manager and coaching staff who won’t let us stop. Tomorrow is a huge challenge, and it will be one of the most difficult matches we are going to play, but we are confident in how we are building the team and facing teams like Barcelona. It is a really exciting match that we will play tomorrow.”
McGinn continued: “They have world-class players on the bench and in the starting XI. We played against lots of their players in the Premier League,” like Rodri and Anthony Gordon. “They have amazing ability, but with all of those players, they have humility to work for the team.
“They all work hard for the team, they seem to have more togetherness than what they had some years ago. We hadn’t had much time to focus on this match, as we recovered Sunday and travelled today. We have our own players who can cause damage to Barcelona as well.”
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