Unai Emery to Real Madrid – Is Aston Villa boss the perfect candidate?

‘Contact made’ 

Unai Emery has emerged as a leading candidate to become Real Madrid boss in the summer. After Xabi Alonso was dismissed amid dressing room conflict, Álvaro Arbeloa was appointed as caretaker and the Spaniard is expected to remain in position until the end of the season. Madrid have endured a difficult season and there was another low-point on Wednesday night as they failed to secure a top eight position in the Champions League, and automatic qualification for the last 16.

There’s significant dysfunction in the Madrid dressing rooms, where individualism and ego are often prioritised over the team dynamic. Jürgen Klopp and Zinédine Zidane were linked with the vacancy in the Spanish capital but Emery is believed to be in pole position. Madrid chiefs have held talks with Emery’s representatives to ascertain his availability at the end of the season, according to reports in Spain and Germany. The 54-year-old is contracted until 2029 at Aston Villa and is adored in the Midlands but the allure of Madrid could prove irresistible.

Unai Emery linked to Real Madrid

Emery is a hugely respected manager and widely regarded as one of the best coaches in Europe. Whether the Spaniard possesses the profile of a Madrid manager is open to debate but it’s impossible to argue against his record. Emery is the most successful coach in Europa League history with four titles and forged his reputation in Spain with Villarreal and Sevilla. The Basque-born coach has also worked miracles at Aston Villa, transforming their fortunes since replacing Steven Gerrard. You can read a detailed breakdown of Emery’s success at Villa here but he dragged a club in a relegation battle back into the Champions League.

This season, Villa are joint-second in the Premier League, despite having the tenth most expensively assembled squad and the 17th highest net spend in England across the last ten years. The major question mark over Emery’s suitability to Real Madrid is his ability to manage the superstar egos in the dressing room – Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, to name a few. At Arsenal and PSG, Emery experienced issues dealing with high-profile players that didn’t align with his meticulous tactical approach that required complete buy-in from every player. Emery still enjoyed immense domestic success at PSG but failed to win the Champions League and it was clear that Neymar wasn’t his signing. The Villa boss has voiced dissatisfaction over being restricted in his ability to spend but he enjoys huge control at the club and could be unwilling to leave. Conversely, Emery might decide that he can’t take the club further and there will be significant interest in his services, not just from Madrid.