Mateu Alemany has explained his reasons for deciding to stay on as Barcelona director of football and turning down Aston Villa.

Alemany was widely expected to take a directorial role at Aston Villa at the end of the season. At the stay of May, after a number of weeks of talks, he'd even agreed the move to England.

Despite that, Alemany then decided to back out of the deal after a final round of talks with Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Speaking to DAZN Espana, Alemany discussed the reason he opted to stay at Camp Nou, saying: “I’m very clear my place is at Barca, the best club in the world. I’m totally committed to helping this project, which has taken a very important step.

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“Aston Villa has an impressive project and one of the best coaches in Europe, but after personal reflection, this is where I want to be. I hope in the coming years we will continue to climb the steps to dominate European football again.”

Barcelona recently secured their first La Liga title since 2019. But although they thoroughly dominated La Liga, they did struggle in Europe and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. The aim next season will be to vastly improve performances on the continent.

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This article was originally published on 90min as Mateu Alemany explains decision to stay at Barcelona.