Aston Villa boss denies that he is not at the same level as the other nominees in Ballon D’Or awards.
Aston Villa boss finally gets his recognition worldwide by being shortlisted as the top nominees in the one of the most prestigious awards to date, the best manager in 2026 Ballon D’Or awards. It is his first ever one in his career.
So far he is only considered one of the best managers for dark horse teams, but not elite ones. It is due to his glittering success with the non elite teams such as Sevilla, Villarreal and now Aston Villa, with five UEFA Europa League trophies, the second tier continental competition.
Yet, when he was at the helm of the big teams like Arsenal and PSG, he only won domestic titles with the latter but went trophyless with the former. Nevertheless, it does not make him feel undervalued, as most think of. Emery shared his comments on this while speaking to Diario de Seville as reported in Express and Stars.
“Being nominated for the Ballon d’Or is something to be proud of. Sometimes people tell me: ‘Unai is undervalued in football’.
“No, I feel very valued in the places I’ve been, I feel very valued in football in general, and I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything.”
Emery is one of the five shortlisted nominees for the Best Manager in the awards this year. His contenders are Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta, PSG’s Luis Enrique, Spain national team manager, Luis De La Fuente and Bayern Munich boss, Vincent Kompany.
Emery then added in his comment about his chance to win the award.
“I don’t know who they’ll give it to. I imagine the Champions League winner carries a lot of weight, and it could be Luis Enrique, or even winning the World Cup like De La Fuente did, that would also have its significance, but I don’t know.
“I think the Europa League winner does too, and that’s why I’m in the running, but a little less so.”
The 2026 edition award ceremony will be held on October 26. London has been chosen to host the ceremony.
Unai Emery has received his first nomination in this global award. Previously, he has only won the local managerial awards.
The former Villarreal and Sevilla boss once was awarded the Miguel Munoz trophy or Best Manager in Spanish football but not as a La Liga outfit. He won them twice consecutively after leading Deportivo Lorca and Almeira to gain promotion to the top flight.
Another prestigious award Emery had won was Best Ligue 1 manager in 2018. He received the accolades after sweeping all domestic titles, Ligue 1, French Cup and Coupe de La Ligue with Le Parisien PSG.
Moreover, Emery also has won manager of the month six times. He received it three times in La Liga and another three in the Premier League.
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