Ezri Konsa has said the Prince of Wales referring to him as a “Rolls-Royce” counts as the greatest compliment of his career and that Aston Villa are grateful for his royal backing. Prince William, arguably Villa’s best-known supporter and a patron of the Football Association, is expected to be in Istanbul for Wednesday’s Europa League final. Villa are seeking their first trophy since the League Cup in 1996 and will face the German side Freiburg in Turkey.
Konsa has opened up on the surreal nature of support from the heir to the throne. William was in the Villa Park directors’ box for Villa’s second-leg 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, which cemented Villa’s place in a first major European final since 1982.
“It’s weird because on game day when he comes in you’re focused on the game a lot, so sometimes you’re in the moment and you don’t realise how big it is that you have got him coming in to greet everyone, shaking everyone’s hand,” said Konsa, a regular for Villa and England.
“Sometimes you get caught up in the moment and after you go home and think: ‘Flipping hell, I just shook his hand, he knows my name and everything … It’s massive and to have his support is brilliant for the club and the players as well. Some of the players from different countries didn’t know who he was beforehand, so for them to learn about him and know who he is, is big. Yeah, hopefully he will be there on Wednesday as well.”
Last year William admitted to anonymously posting on Villa fan forums under a pseudonym and Konsa conceded nothing beats praise from royalty: “Definitely not ... he called me a Rolls-Royce once, so I’ll take that. That got stuck in my head. I’ll take that all day. It was really nice.
“He’s a Villa fan, I’m sure he’d know every player’s name … since I joined he has been showing unreal support, coming into the changing room, greeting everyone and showing everyone the utmost respect. Massive credit to him for taking his time to come and watch us and support us.”
William attended Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley in his capacity as patron of the FA and Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki took a selfie with him after receiving his winner’s medal. William is also expected to visit the US during the World Cup this summer as part of his FA role.