Aston Villa‘s Pau Torres has opened up about Real Madrid and Barcelona’s interest and aims to commit his long-term future to the Premier League side. 

The Spain international graduated from Villarreal’s youth system and spent seven years with their first team. His performances for the La Liga side led to interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona.

However, the centre-back left the Yellow Submarine to join Aston Villa in 2023. The move saw him reunite with Unai Emery after playing under the manager at Villarreal.

At Villarreal, he played 105 matches under Emery and won the Europa League during the 2020/21 season, defeating Manchester United in the final.

Aston Villa player on Real Madrid and Barca links 

On Tuesday, Barcelona will host Aston Villa in the Champions League. Ahead of this clash, Monday’s edition of Sport has published an interview with the 29-year-old.

Pau Torres was asked whether he was close to joining Real Madrid in 2021.

He said: “Yes. In the end, being among the two or three candidates for a team like Madrid is always a very positive thing. I also understand why they decided at the end of the window on a free agent at that time, like David Alaba.”

When asked about Barcelona links, Torres explained: “Some rumours and such, but my agents and I have always discussed it. Unless something is very advanced, I don’t want to know anything about it.”

PAU TORRES

Senior career statistics · All competitions

Club	Years	Appearances	Goals
Villarreal	2016–2023	173	12
Málaga (loan)	2018–2019	40	1
Aston Villa	2023–present	119	2
FIRST-TEAM CAREER TOTAL	332	15

Scope: Competitive senior first-team appearances and goals, including domestic cups, European qualifiers, European competitions, UEFA Super Cups and promotion play-offs. Excludes Villarreal B, youth football, internationals and friendlies.
Loans: Málaga appearances are counted separately from Villarreal.
Sources: Villarreal CF, Aston Villa, published career records and Opta statistics.
Updated: 2 November 2026, including Aston Villa’s match against Fulham on 31 October.

SPORT WITNESS

Unai Emery’s influence at Aston Villa 

The Villans appointed the Spaniard as their manager in November 2022, and he played a key role in the club’s growth. Last season, Unai Emery helped Aston Villa win the Europa League.

Pau Torres has played 119 matches for the English club. A large part of his matches so far in his career have been under Emery. Sports point that out and asked what’s key to the manager’s success.

“His success is no fluke; he has worked incredibly hard for it. You could say he lives at the training ground. He’s one of the first to arrive and always the last to leave,” he added.

“He’s obsessed with his work and with football, and that’s the passion he tries to instil in us. Both he and his staff prepare for matches down to the very last detail.”

Not considering Emery’s transfer suggestion

The defender’s contract lasts until 2028. In March, he talked about his desire to stay at the cub for a long time.

While the pair were at Villarreal, the coach said that with his potential, Torres should go to Real Madrid or Barcelona.

That didn’t happen, and the player says he won’t take Emery’s transfer suggestion into consideration.

“When he left for Aston Villa, he was very honest with me and said, ‘Come here with me; we have a very good project’. I’ve been with him for a long time, and I hope we can have many more successes in the future, just like we have so far,” Torres said.

The former Villarreal star now wants to aim big with Aston Villa, after winning the Europa League.

“Yes, I sometimes tell Unai that we already have two Europa League titles and that we have to try to go for the big one, the Champions League trophy. It’s very difficult, and we know we’re not favourites by any means. But we can compete with anyone if we’re at our best,” he concluded.

The English club are second in the Champions League group table with nine points, behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.