Donyell Malen has been left disappointed after being excluded from Aston Villa’s Champions League squad in favor of Rashford.
Rashford fell out of favor at Manchester United after Ruben Amorim took over as manager in November. He hadn’t played for the Red Devils since mid-December and joined Villa Park during the January transfer window.
While fans and manager Unai Emery are eager to see what Rashford can contribute during his loan, his arrival comes with its compromises.
Rashford made his debut in the 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, coming on to replace Malen in the 66th minute. However, the new teammates will not be playing together in the Champions League.
Emery decided to leave Malen out of the Champions League squad after Villa automatically progressed to the knockout stages. According to The Athletic, this decision has left Malen deeply disappointed.
According to UEFA rules, Villa could only add three new players from their five January signings. Along with Malen’s arrival from Borussia Dortmund in a £21 million deal that keeps him at Villa Park until 2029, Andres Garcia joined from Levante for £5.91 million, while Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi also signed on loan alongside Rashford.
Malen expressed to reporters after his move that playing in the Champions League was “very important” to him when deciding to join Villa, stating: “It’s a big thing, the Champions League.”
“It’s the biggest competition in the world. I played in it for the last few years so for me it was a very important thing when deciding to move. This is where you want to play.”
But, Emery decided to leave him and Garcia out of the competition for the 2024/25 campaign. Disasi was a shoo-in given Villa’s defensive injuries, with Rashford and Malen’s similar profile leaving the decision down to one of them.
Speaking about his choice, the boss said: “It was not easy, the conversation with him. It is not fair but the rules pushed us to take the decision and I explained to him why we took it.
“Of course, he accepted but it is not easy for him to be with us now and not playing in the Champions League.” The choice ultimately will be disappointing for Malen, who played in last season’s Champions League final with Dortmund – suffering a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid.
Villa secured a spot in the knockout rounds of the ongoing competition by finishing eighth in the new league format.
The Midlands team recorded five wins, one draw, and only two losses in their eight matches, and will now face either Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting CP, or Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.
