Manchester United midfielder Youri Tielemans had to apologise to Aston Villa and their supporters for his most recent public statement.
Tielemans became the Red Devils’ second midfield addition of the summer after Andrey Santos, who joined from Chelsea.
While United had to negotiate with the Blues for the 22-year-old Brazilian, no talks were required with Villa for the Belgian, who had a £35 million release clause inserted in his contract.
Youri Tielemans apologises to Aston Villa
In a press conference held in Dublin, Tielemans revealed he was close to joining the Reds on two previous occasions, but the move didn’t materialise.
Therefore, the Belgium international is grateful to finally have the opportunity to play for the Premier League giants.
Tielemans thanked Aston Villa for everything they had given him, but noted that Man Utd are at a different level.
“I am very thankful to Aston Villa. I owe them the world. It is a great club, we did amazing things, and they have put me back to my best level,” said the midfielder as reported by The Independent.
“But there are clubs above Villa, and Manchester United is one of them.”
This comment didn’t sit well with Villa supporters, who launched a scathing attack on their former player on social media.
Youri Tielemans via Ig: “Never meant for my words in the press yesterday to offend anyone or undermine the institution of Aston Villa Football Club which I massively respect and I'm grateful to for the past 3 years. I must however admit my mistake and apologise for my choice of… pic.twitter.com/kpBAkz7LYq
Therefore, Tielemans decided to apologise to his former employers with a story posted on his Instagram account.
“Never meant for my words in the press yesterday to offend anyone or undermine the institution of Aston Villa Football Club, which I massively respect and I’m grateful to for the past three years,” posted the new Man Utd player.
“I must, however, admit my mistake and apologise for my choice of words, will be more careful in the future. Wishing the club the best in the future.”
Tielemans did the right thing by owning up to his ‘mistake’
Despite all the woeful years Man Utd have endured after Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, their status among the biggest clubs in the world has never been in doubt.
Therefore, Tielemans isn’t wrong to consider MUFC a level above Aston Villa, although the Villans are a historic club in their own right and have recently outperformed some of the traditional Top Six in the Premier League on multiple occasions.
Nevertheless, the 29-year-old’s choice of words, as he later noted, wasn’t on cue, as avoiding this sort of comparison is often the wise thing to do, especially when referring to a previous club.
But kudos to Tielemans for owning up to what he described as a ‘mistake’, so he can now put this whole episode behind him and focus on giving his best on the pitch as he prepares to start what should be the most important chapter of his career.
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