Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has said his decision to extend his stay at the club was motivated by their participation in this season’s Uefa Champions League after signing a new contract until 2029.
The 31-year-old made two appearances in the group stage of the competition for former club Arsenal in 2014 and is poised to add to that total this season for Villa, who qualified for the first time with the help of eight clean sheets from Martinez in the 2023-24 Premier League.
“Since I joined, my dream was to be in the Champions League,” said Martinez, announcing his extension to loud cheers at a fan event.
“We achieved that, so I decided to sign a new deal. This club is moving forward, developing the stadium… I feel the club is moving forward every year.
“I’ve achieved everything as an international for Argentina and I still think we can win a trophy here – that’s something missing for this club. I will have a go in the next four years to achieve that.”
He’s here to stay. pic.twitter.com/nu1NhWW7Sg
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 21, 2024
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Emi Martinez Argentina career
Martinez was first called up by Argentina in 2011 but did not make his debut until 2021, winning the Copa America Golden Glove that year.
Argentina were indebted to Martinez for saving three penalties in their semi-final shootout win over Colombia, as well as keeping a clean sheet in their victory in the final against Brazil.
His reputation as a penalty-saving specialist continued to similarly glorious effect at the 2022 Fifa World Cup and 2024 Copa America, saving two spot kicks in each quarter-final at the tournaments and one from France’s Kingsley Coman in the final in Qatar.
A 1-0 win over Colombia in this year’s Copa America final landed Argentina a second successive title and Martinez the Golden Glove again.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 💜
Aston Villa is delighted to announce Emi Martínez has signed a new contract with the club until 2029! pic.twitter.com/jLf4yB2Lo1
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 21, 2024
Emi Martinez salary
Villa are almost certain to have given Martinez a significant pay rise as a reward for his form across 150 appearances since joining them from the Gunners for £17 million in September 2020.
The Villans kept a club-record 15 clean sheets in Martinez’s first season and named him their captain twice during the 2023-24 campaign.
Martinez, who was loaned out six times while spending the first eight years of his career as a reserve for Arsenal, was earning a basic gross wage of £120,000 a week on his previous deal at Villa, according to Capology.
His previous contract, which had run until 2027, amounted to a salary of around £6.3m, the site says.
