Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Unai Emery insists there is no 'relationship' between Aston Villa and Chelsea, claiming that the Blues want to "kill" his team after signing Emi Martinez and Morgan Rogers this summer.
Martinez's move to Chelsea for £7.5 million was the eighth deal between the two clubs in the past four years, with Alejandro Garnacho and Nicolas Jackson moving to Villa this summer.
Aside from player transfers, Villa’s former set-piece coach, Austin MacPhee, also left for Chelsea earlier this summer, joining Xabi Alonso’s backroom team.
Despite having less financial flexibility than Chelsea in the transfer market, Villa have finished above them in three of the last four seasons, qualifying for the Champions League in 2024/25 and last season.
Following Martinez and Jackson’s moves last week, Emery was asked whether having good relationships with clubs in the transfer market is helpful when negotiating deals.
"Good relations? The relationship is only through the deals for money and players," Emery said, before laughing. "They want to KILL us. And we want to kill them.
"It is not a relationship. We have good players and we can sign players from them, but it is not a good relationship. It is deals for money and players. They will want to kill us.
"They are signing Morgan and signing Emi Martinez to kill us. Of course, I am happy for Emi Martinez, and I am happy for Morgan Rogers, but I am not happy for Chelsea."