John McGinn: ‘The perception was Villa had moved beyond me, but Emery thought I was worthy’
“He is not for sale at any price,” was the response of one Aston Villa senior figure when asked about John McGinn’s future.
Villa had made it clear the 31-year-old was staying and relayed their intentions to agree a new contract after the transfer window. The extension — a further 12 months on his existing deal, running until 2028 — was finalised on Wednesday.
Provided McGinn features in the Europa League fixture against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday, he will reach 300 Villa appearances, level with Vic Crowe as the 16th-most any player has achieved in the club’s history. He could climb into the top 10 by the conclusion of the campaign.
To mark his new contract and approaching landmark, McGinn sat down with a handful of journalists, including The Athletic, to discuss his storied Villa career and what is next, invariably with refreshing, interesting honesty.
Not many reach 300 appearances…
“Because I have been here the longest, I forget Ezri (Konsa), (Matty) Cash, Tyrone (Mings), Emi (Martinez) and Ollie (Watkins) have all been on this journey together. It’s special how far we have come, seeing the progression of the players and the club alongside it makes it so easy to stay.
“When the club is constantly evolving and improving, you don’t need to look elsewhere. You can feel like the club is taking on each challenge you want as a player and matching that ambition. If we want to keep players like Morgan (Rogers) and Ezri, who I am sure many teams in Europe would want, the club need to keep doing that and they are.”
How has it been under Unai Emery, from the first moment you met him to now?
“I’ll never forget my first meeting with him. It was probably the most fascinating half an hour I’ve had in my career.
“The night before we played Manchester United, I hadn’t really spoken to him much then. He told me I was maybe going to start, maybe not, so he put me on edge right away. He said: ‘I’ve watched your last 10 matches in detail and not so good.’ But then he said: ‘Luckily for you, I’ve watched the 10 before and the 10 before that, so I believe you can be an asset to us.’
“I didn’t start, but I just managed to train away, build his trust and get a rhythm and have stayed pretty much in his thoughts ever since. I’ve got massive, massive respect for him. There was a lot of pressure at the time, probably from within certain areas of the club and definitely outside. The perception was that the club had moved beyond me.
“But what I’ll give him enormous amounts of credit for is that he wanted to judge with his own eyes, take everything away and any noise. He thought that I was worthy of staying around. What he’s given me in my career has been incredible and hopefully over the next few years I can repay that.”
Any thoughts about leaving this summer?
“I had no thoughts really about leaving. It was a little bit of a confidence booster for me, at my age, that teams would be interested, but I think most clubs around the country were aware that we had to be in a selling position this summer, so no one was safe from that.
“There was no grey area. I trusted those who said it — the manager, (director of football operations) Damian (Vidagany), (co-owners) Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. They were all clear that they wanted me to be around, and still felt that I had so much more to give.”
How difficult was the summer with all the uncertainty?
“It was difficult. It was probably the most difficult summer — in terms of missing out on the Champions League in strange circumstances.
“The summer was a big wake-up call to everyone about how important these (Profitability and Sustainability) rules are. There was a lot of uncertainty for players who left, players who stayed, and it certainly did affect us. It was tricky, but my job was to try and keep the players as focused as we possibly could.”
Is there ever a sense that you will be replaced?
“I feel that every season, genuinely. When you come down from Scotland, you always have a point to prove.
“When you get older, each birthday actually becomes quite miserable because you think ‘oh no’ — that’s my genuine thought. My dad said: ‘What’s up with you?’ I said, ‘I’ve hit the big three.’ And everyone gets obsessed with it, but in my career, I always play better when I’ve got a point to prove and now I’m actually in the best condition I’ve been in a long time physically.
“Each year, I’ll have the same challenge, I’ll have someone younger or sexier, with a longer name or someone who has signed for Ł50million, but it just makes me that wee bit more determined to prove my worth.
“There will be a time at some point where I’ll have to hold my hands up: ‘All right, this player’s actually better than me’ or maybe at the level does exceed me, but at this moment in time, I don’t think that’s anywhere close and I’m determined to prove that.”
Has the perception of you changed?
“I think that’s why I’m so grateful to the manager. The trust he has in me to play whatever position in his team allowed that perception to change a little bit, but also playing at the highest level for Aston Villa in the Champions League was huge for me.
“The perception from outside Aston Villa, outside the supporters, I think there will always be a kind of lazy image that I’m a grafter and all I do is tackle and run about and work for the team. That’ll always be there. I’ll never shift that, just because of my body shape, because I like a laugh and a joke, I get angry with the refs sometimes, get angry during the games.
“That is just something that will never shift, but what matters is the supporters, my team-mates and everyone at a club know I’m much more than that — and that’s all that sort of matters to me.”
Why do you feel as good as ever in your body?
“I am very close to my agent, who has been with me since the start of my career, David. He cares about what you’re doing off the field and what you’re doing next. Last year, we had an honest chat. He is able to say what he likes to me.
“He said, ‘The first day of pre-season, I want you to come in like you’ve never looked before.’ I went to America to work with a woman called Natalie, who trains many serious NFL players, UFC players during the off-season to keep them in tip-top shape.
“She absolutely beasted me! It was 45C heat in Arizona. The benefits of that were that I came back in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time. Moving forward, the biggest challenge over the next few years is to keep my body in a good state. In the Premier League, everyone is getting so athletic. The challenge is to keep as close to them as possible.”
Have you added anything else to aid your preparation?
“I have and it makes me feel uncomfortable because I am from a very humble part of the world. They will all laugh at me and wind me up for it, but I do have a chef.
“For any young player coming to Aston Villa now, there is no stigma toward it. There definitely is in Scotland. It is like, ‘What are you doing with a chef? Who do you think you are?’ I can see it because it used to be me thinking that. But it is an investment in myself. It keeps me in the best possible condition.
“Unfortunately, the chef Mikey is a Coventry City fan. He turned up one day in their kit but we’ll let him off because we have a good relationship.”
Is your standout Villa highlight still to come?
“Aye, definitely. It’s been an amazing journey and I have achieved so much, but everyone knows what would eclipse what we have already achieved. If it takes me until I’m 37, 38, or even 40, I’m just so determined for that (a trophy) to happen. Aye, hopefully the best is yet to come.”
