Emi Martinez breaks silence on Aston Villa Champions League qualification

Emiliano Martinez says he is proud to achieve Champions League qualification with Aston Villa while thanking supporters for spurring him on throughout the season.

Martinez and Co. celebrated at Villa's first team end-of-season awards night on Tuesday as they watched Tottenham Hotspur fall to Manchester City, which mathematically confirmed the West Midlands side can't be caught in fourth place on Sunday's final day of the campaign.

Now the club will compete with Europe's elite for the first time in over four decades - a fact that the World Cup-winner came to terms with as he posted about Villa's unbelievable achievement on Instagram.

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"Champions League football at Villa Park after 42 years," he began to write as the caption. "I’m proud to be part of this amazing team. For you Villa fans hearing you sing my name throughout the season has been very emotional for me and my family. Thank you," which was then followed by a purple heart emoji.

The Argentine has been critical in this year's efforts, featuring in 34 of Villa's 37 league matches so far whilst keeping nine clean sheets. Only four other top-flight goalkeepers have a better record this season.

As well as the club awaiting qualification after so many years, Martinez himself has been made to wait a decade to return to the competition. His only two Champions League appearances to date came as a 22-year-old in the 2014/15 season group stages with Arsenal, and both ended in wins against Borussia Dortmund and Anderlecht.