CM: ‘Sliding doors’ – the three times Aston Villa boss Emery was considered by Milan | OneFootball

Unai Emery has earned a lot of praise for the job he has done at Aston Villa, and he was twice in consideration to be AC Milan manager.

As Calciomercato.com recall, Villa were very close to making the semi-finals of the Champions League, denied only by an inspired Gianluigi Donnarumma as in the end Paris Saint-Germain went through 5-4 on aggregate in a thrilling tie.

It didn’t end as Emery had hoped, but his side left the field to applause from fans. It is a contrast to last season in the Conference League, when the Birmingham club were surprisingly eliminated in the semi-final by Olympiacos, who went on to win the trophy after beating Fiorentina in Athens.

The second experience in the Premier League, after the failed one at Arsenal, has certified that Emery is a quality coach. Together with sporting director Monchi – a relationship that was already fruitful at Sevilla – Villa have shown they can go toe to toe with anyone.

And to think that Emery has been close to Milan more than once. You have to go back more than ten years to find the first time, when in 2014 he was most popular to replace Clarence Seedorf. The choice, in the end, fell on Filippo Inzaghi, and we all know how that went.

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The second ‘sliding doors moment’ was Stefano Pioli earning a new deal in the summer of 2020. Prior to that, Emery was in the running with Ralf Rangnick and Marcelino to take over from the Italian, who ended up winning the Scudetto in 2021-22.

Ten years after the first rumour, before the U-turn on Julen Lopetegui and the arrival of Paulo Fonseca, the media once again linked Emery to the Rossoneri. He responded in a press conference: “I am absolutely 100% focused on Aston Villa.”

Emery has plenty of experience managing top clubs, given he was at PSG from 2016 to 2018 at PSG, and at Arsenal in 2018-19. Who knows if sooner or later the paths of the Spaniard and the Rossoneri might finally converge.