Emi Martinez's brother reveals main reason why ‘Diego Maradona of Aston Villa’ goalkeeper missed out on dream transfer to Man Utd

World Cup winner Martinez appeared to bid farewell to Villans supporters at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, with there seemingly expectation on his part that a summer transfer away from the West Midlands would be agreed.

No deal was done, despite being heavily linked with a switch to Old Trafford, and the 33-year-old goalkeeper remains part of Unai Emery’s plans with another recruitment window closing across Europe.

Alejandro Martinez claims his sibling ultimately ended up staying put as Villa did not want to sell. He told DSports Radio: “I was told that Emi gave a lot as a professional and as a person, they love him, and you could see that on the pitch.  He is well-liked, and the directors didn’t want to sell him because he is the key player in the team, and another team wanted him. It was that commercial dispute.

“These are decisions made by club officials. It didn’t happen, but it’s like everything else in business. The sporting side of things was left out of it, and everything is fine. Emi never had an argument with Unai; it was all within the management’s control, and the clubs couldn’t agree.

“At Aston Villa, he’s the Diego [Maradona] of Napoli. He gave a lot at Villa, like Kun [Aguero] did at City, like Leo [Messi] did at Barca. They’re legendary players, and it’s going to be hard to surpass what he did at Aston Villa.”

Martinez’s father, Alberto, added on the reasons for a high-profile transfer never materialising: “This is a job, this is a factory, and factories have employees. He’s just another employee, and the factory won’t let him go if he’s good. It’s all business. Tomorrow it will happen, today it didn’t happen.”

Villa have Martinez tied to a contract through to 2029 and were never going to let him go without a fight. With their demands not being met, the South American shot-stopper will continue to grace Premier League and Europa League competition with the club that he joined from Arsenal in 2020.