Emi Martinez has left Aston Villa
Emi Martinez has left Aston Villa
Emi Martinez has completed his move to Chelsea from Aston Villa for £7.5 million. The goalkeeper’s exit brings an end to his six-year stay at the club, following his arrival from Arsenal in the summer of 2020.
Martinez’s final appearance for Villa came in the Europa League final, when he played with a broken finger after suffering the injury during the warm-up.
The goalkeeper had communicated his desire to embark on a new challenge for a second successive summer in recent months.
A move to Juventus broke down despite it appearing increasingly likely that he would head to Serie A, with Villa having already recruited his replacement, Zion Suzuki, from Parma.
Martinez made a total of 255 appearances for Villa across all competitions, playing in all three of UEFA’s club competitions.
His brilliant form for Villa helped him establish himself as Argentina’s undisputed number one, and he went on to help Lionel Messi win the World Cup in 2022, sandwiched between two Copa America triumphs.
Speaking before Villa’s defeat to Brighton last weekend, Unai Emery was asked about Martinez's future.
“We have signed Suzuki not for the future, but for now. He has shown his capacity and that he can play at our level," he explained.
“Martinez transmitted to us the possibility to have another challenge in his career, not just now and even last year, and he was thinking in case he had a possibility to change his challenges, but he stayed and performed fantastic.
“This year, again, he transmitted to us for a new challenge, and we signed Suzuki to replace him. Bizot as well, when we needed him, he responded fantastically. My ideal scenario with the goalkeeper is really fantastic, but maybe we can still change something."