Unai Emery Etxegoien is a Spanish football manager and former midfielder, born on 3 November 1971 in Hondarribia, also known as Fuenterrabía, in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. The English Wikipedia biography of Unai Emery identifies him as the current manager of Aston Villa and documents his record in the UEFA Europa League, which he has won five times as a coach.
His managerial career has crossed four countries and nine clubs, from Spain’s lower divisions to Ligue 1 and the Premier League. No other manager has won the Europa League more often, and his name has become inseparable from that competition.
The sections below separate the established facts of his career from the recurring rumours and unconfirmed figures that surround it, including his nationality, age, family, salary, and the Real Madrid question that keeps surfacing in searches.
Who Is Unai Emery? Nationality and Age
Emery is Spanish, born in the Basque Country, and his football roots run deep in his family. UEFA’s profile of Emery notes that he was a third-generation footballer, with his father, uncles, and grandfather all having played, and that he began in Real Sociedad’s youth ranks as a left-sided midfielder. At 54, he remains active at the top level of the game.
| Unai Emery at a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Current Role | Head Coach / Manager, Aston Villa (since October 2022) |
| Age | 54 (born ) |
| Nationality | Spanish (born in Hondarribia, Basque Country) |
| Major Titles | Record 5× UEFA Europa League winner, Ligue 1 champion, multiple domestic cups |
Key insights
- Emery is the most successful manager in Europa League history, with five titles won across three different clubs.
- He has managed in four major European leagues: Spain, France, England, and Russia.
- His Arsenal tenure ran from summer 2018 to November 2019 and included a Europa League final appearance.
- Aston Villa appointed him in October 2022, and the club’s trajectory changed quickly after his arrival.
- Despite recurring speculation, Emery has never managed Real Madrid.
- He comes from a third-generation football family, and his son Lander now plays for Aston Villa’s under-21 team.
| Unai Emery — Snapshot Facts | |
|---|---|
| Field | Detail |
| Full name | Unai Emery Etxegoien |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | Hondarribia / Fuenterrabía, Gipuzkoa, Spain (Basque Country) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Playing position | Left-sided midfielder / left-back |
| Current role | Head Coach, Aston Villa (since October 2022) |
| Contract expiry | |
| Europa League titles | 5 (Sevilla ×3, Villarreal ×1, Aston Villa ×1) |
| Other major honours | Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophée des Champions |
| Son | Lander, an Aston Villa under-21 player |
| Wife | Not named in reliable public sources |
Which Football Teams Has Unai Emery Coached?
Emery’s managerial list, in order, runs through Lorca Deportiva CF, UD Almería, Valencia CF, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla FC, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Villarreal CF, and Aston Villa. BeSoccer’s coach page documents that progression and lists his current contract at Aston Villa.
His first two jobs produced promotions. Lorca Deportiva reached the Segunda División under his management, and Almería moved up into La Liga. At Valencia, he finished third in La Liga in three consecutive seasons and reached a Copa del Rey final in 2012.
Sevilla is where his European reputation took shape. Between 2013 and 2016 he won the Europa League three times in a row, a run that no manager had achieved before. At Villarreal he added another Europa League title and reached a Champions League semi-final; at Aston Villa he has re-established the club as a European contender since late 2022.
Did Unai Emery Manage Arsenal?
Emery became Arsenal manager in summer 2018, taking over after Arsène Wenger’s departure. BBC Sport’s coverage of his appointment confirmed the move. He took Arsenal to the 2019 Europa League final, where they lost to Chelsea, and finished fifth in the Premier League. He left the club in November 2019.
Did Unai Emery Manage PSG?
Emery coached Paris Saint-Germain between 2016 and 2018, in the period after Sevilla and before Arsenal. In 2017–18 he won Ligue 1, along with the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue, and the Trophée des Champions, in a domestic campaign that set club records.
Has Unai Emery Ever Coached Real Madrid?
No. The documented managerial record lists Lorca, Almería, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal, Villarreal, and Aston Villa, with no Real Madrid appointment. The recurring link appears whenever major European jobs come up, but no coaching connection exists in the record. The confusion may be amplified by the volume of Real Madrid-related coverage in football media — including player profiles such as Sergio Ramos 2025 – Club, Net Worth, Age and Career Stats — but that coverage does not translate into a documented coaching role for Emery.
Emery has faced Real Madrid in European competition and has frequently been named in speculation about top vacancies. Those links remain media speculation. The career record, as documented across multiple independent profiles, contains no Real Madrid coaching role.
Who Is Unai Emery’s Wife and Son?
Reliable public sources do not name Emery’s wife. His private life is kept largely out of the media, and the main biographical databases covering his career do not confirm a spouse’s identity.
What Is Known About Unai Emery’s Wife?
Very little is publicly documented. The available encyclopedic and statistical profiles contain no reliable naming of a spouse, and family topics rarely appear in coverage of his career.
Does Unai Emery Have a Son?
Yes. His son, Lander, plays for Aston Villa’s under-21 team, according to The Athletic’s report on Emery’s hometown. AS’s overview of his coaching path also notes the family connection, which continues a tradition that began with Emery’s grandfather and passed through his father and uncles.
Emery’s father, uncles, and grandfather were all footballers, and UEFA identifies him as a third-generation player. His son Lander is the only family member named in current sources, playing for Aston Villa’s under-21 side. No reliable public source names his wife.
What Is Unai Emery’s Managerial Record and Salary?
Emery is described in multiple encyclopedic sources as one of the most successful coaches in European continental competition. The French Wikipedia entry goes further and calls him “Monsieur Europa League,” a nickname that reflects his record in the competition.
Europa League Record
Three consecutive titles at Sevilla from 2014 to 2016 built the foundation of his reputation. He added a fourth with Villarreal in 2021, beating Manchester United in the final, and a fifth with Aston Villa in 2026, according to the German Wikipedia record of his career. It is a total no other manager in the competition’s history has matched.
What Is Unai Emery’s Salary at Aston Villa?
Aston Villa has not published an official salary figure. One commercial football-profile site lists his annual salary at £8 million, and also reports a figure of £7.8 million per year, or £150,000 per week. That commercial profile is the source of the circulating numbers, and because it is not an official club disclosure, the figure should be treated as an estimate rather than a confirmed public salary.
The £8 million and £7.8 million figures circulating online originate from a commercial football-profile site, not from Aston Villa or the Premier League. Until an official disclosure appears, any exact salary number remains an estimate.
How Has Unai Emery’s Career Developed Over Time?
From a playing career cut short by injury to a record unmatched in the Europa League, Emery’s path has been steady rather than linear.
- Playing career (1990s–2004): Emery played for Real Sociedad, Toledo, Racing de Ferrol, Leganés, and Lorca as a left-sided midfielder and left-back, before retiring through injury. (UEFA profile)
- 2004–2006: Lorca Deportiva — achieved promotion to the Segunda División. (UEFA profile)
- 2006–2008: UD Almería — secured La Liga promotion and established the club in the top flight. (UEFA profile)
- 2008–2012: Valencia CF — three consecutive third-place La Liga finishes, Champions League qualification each season, and a Copa del Rey final in 2012. (Wikipedia)
- 2012: Spartak Moscow — a short tenure in the Russian Premier League, ending in November 2012. (Wikipedia)
- 2013–2016: Sevilla FC — three consecutive Europa League titles. (UEFA profile)
- 2016–2018: Paris Saint-Germain — Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, and Trophée des Champions, including a record domestic campaign in 2017–18. (UEFA profile)
- 2018–2019: Arsenal — appointed in May 2018, reached the 2019 Europa League final, and left in November 2019. (BBC Sport)
- 2020–2022: Villarreal CF — won the 2020–21 Europa League, beating Manchester United, and reached the Champions League semi-final. (Wikipedia)
- 2022–present: Aston Villa — appointed in October 2022, officially taking charge on 1 November 2022; contract listed until 30 June 2029. (BeSoccer)
What Is Known About Unai Emery and What Is Unconfirmed?
Separating established facts from speculation matters, because several aspects of Emery’s career — especially his salary and personal life — are widely guessed at but thinly documented.
| Established information | Information that remains unclear |
|---|---|
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Why Is Unai Emery Regarded as a European Specialist?
Emery’s record in cup competitions, especially the Europa League, distinguishes him as one of Europe’s most decorated coaches outside the traditional elite-club tier. The “Monsieur Europa League” label attached to him in French coverage summarises a reputation built on sustained knockout success.
He has also demonstrated adaptability across leagues. Managing in Spain, Russia, France, and England demands different tactical and cultural adjustments, and his career contains both dominant domestic campaigns and shorter, more difficult spells. His biggest league title came with a financially powerful PSG side, but the European titles were won with clubs of contrasting profiles. That kind of reinvention across new settings is a feature he shares with other long-serving managers; Mick McCarthy – Career, Roy Keane Feud, and Net Worth traces a similar pattern of rebuilding in different national roles.
At Aston Villa, Emery reversed the club’s trajectory with structured pressing, clear attacking patterns, and strong home form, re-establishing the team as a European contender. The Real Madrid question persists mainly because he has regularly been linked with high-profile vacancies; the documented record itself is unambiguous.
Which Sources Document Unai Emery’s Career and Record?
The facts in this profile draw on encyclopedic and journalistic materials, including Wikipedia entries in English, Spanish, French, German, and Scots, UEFA’s official profile, BeSoccer’s manager database, BBC Sport’s archived reporting, The Athletic, and AS.
UEFA’s profile describes Emery as a third-generation footballer whose father, uncles, and grandfather all played, and who came through Real Sociedad’s youth ranks as a left-sided midfielder.
— UEFA.com
French-language coverage has labelled Emery “Monsieur Europa League,” a nickname that captures his domination of the competition.
— French Wikipedia
Wikipedia’s German-language entry summarises his honours as five Europa League titles, with the latest won at Aston Villa in 2026.
— German Wikipedia
How Should Unai Emery’s Career Be Summarised?
Unai Emery is one of the most successful coaches in European club football over the past decade and a half. Five Europa League titles, a Ligue 1 championship, and a rapid transformation of Aston Villa make up a record that needs no embellishment. His personal life remains private, his salary remains officially unconfirmed, and the Real Madrid question has no basis in his coaching history — but the career itself is documented in detail across every major football reference source.
Frequently Asked Questions About Unai Emery
What was Unai Emery like as a young player?
Emery was a left-sided midfielder and left-back who developed at Real Sociedad. He also played for Toledo, Racing de Ferrol, Leganés, and Lorca before a knee injury ended his playing career relatively early.
Who is Unai Emery’s assistant?
The available sources do not name Emery’s current assistant at Aston Villa or provide a detailed assistant-coach history. Backroom staff have changed at each club he has managed, so no single assistant can be confirmed from the documented record.
What is Unai Emery’s full name?
His full name is Unai Emery Etxegoien.
How many Europa League titles has Unai Emery won?
Five. He won three with Sevilla, one with Villarreal, and one with Aston Villa, making him the record holder in the competition’s history.
Where was Unai Emery born?
He was born in Hondarribia, also written Fuenterrabía, in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country, Spain, on 3 November 1971.
Does Unai Emery’s contract at Aston Villa have a set expiry date?
BeSoccer lists his contract as running until 30 June 2029. The club has not published a salary figure.
Sophie Kendall is Celebrity News Editor at ShowbizUK.co.uk, covering celebrity news, public appearances, interviews, red carpet coverage, social media updates and audience-focused showbiz stories.