Aston Villa manager Unai Emery says he would be open to working with former colleague Monchi for a third time, describing the sporting director as someone he likes greatly and respects highly.
Emery and Monchi first joined forces at Sevilla in 2014, when Emery became head coach and Monchi was the club’s sporting director. During their time together, Sevilla won the Europa League in three successive seasons.
Their partnership ended in 2016 when Emery left to take charge of Paris Saint-Germain. He admitted he was unable to tell Monchi about the move before it became public.
“I couldn’t tell him in advance then. Later, one day he called me and said, ‘Look, Marca says you’re going to Paris Saint-Germain, and when Marca reports something like that…’” Emery told Diario de Sevilla.
“I told him, ‘Damn, Monchi, I’m really sorry, but I couldn’t tell you before. It’s true, they will pay the release clause. For me, it was clearly an opportunity I had to seize, Monchi.’”
Emery later hoped to reunite with Monchi at Arsenal. The pair even met in London, but Monchi ultimately returned to Sevilla instead.
“Later at Arsenal, we even met in London, and I thought he would come, but he ended up going back to Sevilla,” Emery said.
The two eventually worked together again at Aston Villa. Emery became Villa’s manager in 2022, while Monchi joined the club at Villa Park in July 2023.
“I said to him, ‘Monchi, what’s the situation now?’ I had seen news that he was preparing to leave, and then he came to work with me,” Emery said.
The manager said their time together at Villa was successful, but Monchi also had significant responsibilities with the San Fernando project. Financial Fair Play restrictions created further difficulties for the club.
“We worked very well together and had a good two years, but at the same time, he was also involved in the San Fernando project and was very committed to it,” Emery said.
“We also faced some difficulties with Financial Fair Play at the time. So, considering all these factors, he ultimately said he couldn’t stay.”
Emery said Villa had been forced to sell players while trying to deal with the financial pressure.
“We had to sell players, and that period was indeed very difficult. We were always looking for ways to resolve these issues. In the end, everything was resolved, but the whole process was not easy,” he added.
Monchi ended his work at Aston Villa in September 2024 to devote more time to the San Fernando project. This summer, he also became sporting director of Espanyol.
Asked about the prospect of another reunion, Emery said: “I like him very much, and as a professional, I have the highest respect for him. We have worked together twice, and it was almost three times, because even when I was at Paris Saint-Germain, I always hoped to work with him.”
He added that football had since taken both men in different directions, with Villa later appointing Roberto Olabe, another former colleague of Emery’s.
“That’s football. Football changes very quickly and very frequently,” Emery said. “Sometimes changes happen because you are fired, and sometimes because you choose to leave, and it’s always better to be able to decide to leave yourself than to be fired.”
