To those who do not follow Aston Villa closely, it was one of the most surprising scenes you could witness.
On one row, Prince William, cheering his team on to Europa League glory. On the next, a player with more than a decade’s experience in English football but who may not spring immediately to the mind of the casual fan.
Sitting to William’s right, on the end of the row, was Ben Dawes – better known as ‘Dawesey’. An old friend of William’s, Dawes co-founded a wine business with his wife, Pip, and recently said he is trying to master padel ‘to give myself something to think about’.
To his left were 16-year-old Jake van Cutsem and his banker father, Edward van Cutsem – one of the Prince’s closest childhood friends. William and the van Cutsems were filmed dancing and singing to ‘Sweet Caroline’ together in their box.
But just in front was Ahmed Elmohamady.
Ahmed Elmohamady was sat just in front of Prince William at the Europa League final
The Prince and Elmohamady celebrate together during Villa’s thrilling victory
Elmohamady meets William whenever he comes to a game as part of the inner circle
Elmohamady is an important cog in the Villa machine. Now a club ambassador, he is trusted by co-owner Nassef Sawiris, a fellow Egyptian, and attends most matches. He played for Villa from 2017-21, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and survival the following year. He spoke at a recent event to announce Villa’s tie-up with Egyptian seaside town El Gouna.
The sight of him embracing the Prince of Wales reminded supporters of the 2019 Championship play-off final, when the Prince and John Carew hugged one another following Villa’s win.
As a right-hand man of Sawiris, Elmohamady meets William whenever he comes to a game and is part of his Villa Park inner circle.
But the right-hand man was once a right-back, playing for Sunderland and Hull City after moving to England in 2010 before ending his career at Villa in 2021.
He has spoken of his pride in his work as an ambassador for the club since retiring. ‘To be involved with the club again is one of my proudest moments,’ Elmohamady said.
Prince William later joined players and their family and friends at an after-party at the team hotel in Istanbul, leaving those in attendance in shock at his presence.
In one post, Maja Lindelof, wife of former Man United star Victor, shared a photo with Prince William on her Instagram story inside what appeared to be a private venue, and added: ‘Sparar ur direkt’, which translates from Swedish as ‘going off the rails’.
Elmohamady is pictured during his playing days for Villa before becoming an ambassador
William and Elmohamady are frequently seen together at each Villa games the Prince attends
Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia earlier set the tone with two stunning first-half strikes before Villa wrapped up the win through England star Morgan Rogers’ 58th-minute goal, sparking wild celebrations among the Birmingham club’s travelling fans.
After the final whistle, William joined in the jubilant scenes and was pictured alongside the Villa boss with the trophy in the tunnel.
William posted on X after the final whistle: ‘Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!
‘Special shout out to Boubacar Kamara who has been out injured but is such an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations of this success.
‘UTV! VTID’.
Earlier in the evening, William had paid a pre-match visit to the Villa dressing room, offering a final word of encouragement as Emery’s side prepared for the biggest game in a generation.
Dressed smartly in a black suit and blue shirt, he initially cut a tense figure while making his way through the tunnel ahead of kick-off. But there was little sign of nerves once the action began, as he cheered on a famous – and relatively straightforward – victory for the Birmingham club.
‘He’s a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game,’ Villa captain John McGinn said.
Maja Lindelof, wife of former Man United star Victor, shared a photo with William
At the 2019 Championship play-off final, the Prince and John Carew hugged one another
‘He’s a massive Villa fan and he was never going to miss it. It’s great to have his support and he’s just a normal guy. Hopefully it (his support) continues and tonight he can have a couple of drinks with us and maybe get his credit card out at the end of the night.’
In the lead-up to the game against the German side, defender Ezri Konsa said that William referring to him as a ‘Rolls-Royce’ counted as the greatest compliment of his career, and that the team were grateful for his support.
‘It’s weird because on game day when he comes in you’re focused on the game a lot, so sometimes you’re in the moment and you don’t realise how big it is that you have got him coming in to greet everyone, shaking everyone’s hand,’ said Konsa, a regular for Villa and England.
‘You go home and think: ‘Flipping hell, I just shook his hand, he knows my name’. It’s massive and to have his support is brilliant for the club and the players.
‘He called me a Rolls-Royce once. That got stuck in my head. I’ll take that all day. It was really nice.
‘I’m sure he’d know every player’s name … since I joined he has been showing unreal support, coming into the changing room, greeting everyone and showing everyone the utmost respect. Massive credit to him for taking his time to come and watch us and support us.’
