UNAI EMERY has revealed he CRIED after saying goodbye to Ollie Watkins.

The England striker, 30, is joining Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for £51million but has suffered a massive fan backlash after refusing to play in Sunday’s .

Birmingham, UK. 29th Jan, 2026. Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa walks past Unai Emery manager of Aston Villa as he leaves the game injured during the Aston Villa vs FC Salzburg UEFA Europa League match at Villa Park, Birmingham. Picture credit should reOllie Watkins is walking away from Aston Villa Credit: Alamy Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa FC - Premier League 2026/27Unai Emery was reduced to tears as he said goodbye to the striker Credit: Getty

Yet Villa boss Emery, who has parted with a string of stars this summer, refused to criticise Watkins as he prepares to at Villa Park.

Emery said: “His commitment and his behaviour was fantastic. After the Brighton match he told us he was sorry, and he told us he made a mistake.

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“He was wrong, but we accepted it. The players accepted it as well because he always had behaved very well with the club, with us, and with me.

“And for me, he’s a fantastic guy even more than a fantastic player. And I told him bye with a huge hug and with small tears.

“ had fantastic years scoring goals, good behaviour, good commitment, always ready to play, even when injured.

“The four years working with him have been a high-level relationship with him as a professional.

“He is class and I think he has left a legacy here. All the best to him in Saudi.

“Okay, but now it’s a new chapter here with .”

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Emery, 54, when he was asked about Watkins’ absence before the heavy loss to Brighton.

He said: “Silence. We have the players we have today, here. It’s okay. We’re not speaking about it.”

And Emery then during his post-match media duties.

The ex-Arsenal chief added: “This question is for him. I can’t answer. I can answer only with my silence.

“I think you can call him. You can call his agent and he can respond. It is not my responsibility. Only his answer can explain. I can’t.

“I can answer about Emiliano Buendia, Ross Barkley, John McGinn. But we have had this problem every season and we overcame it. It is something we have to accept and we have always reacted.”

Jackson is for £65m, with keeper Emiliano Martinez going the other way for £7.5m. Villa hope Jackson can feature against Arsenal on Monday.

Emery, explaining the transfer activity, said: “We took some decisions because it’s good for the club.

NINTCHDBPICT001103922947Watkins is heading to Saudi Arabia Credit: Alamy

“Youri Tielemans had a clause but Watkins, Konsa and Emiliano [didn’t]. It is crazy for players who are around 30 years old that we can have £50m for Konsa and Watkins.”

, 28, could make his debut for Arsenal against Villa on Monday.

Emery added: “We don’t want to be a club to sell players but for the club, it’s a good deal.”

Villa have also signed former Bayern Munich midfielder on a free transfer.

The Spaniard said: “He has a high level of experience. He’s a winner.

“For us he’s a good player to add to the squad, as a player with experience and quality.”