Emiliano Martinez Helps Aston Villa Win Europa League Despite Broken Finger

Emiliano Martinez plays through injury to help Villa Win Europa League

Martinez featured for Villa in the Europa League final with a broken finger, continuing his reputation for big performances after his 2022 World Cup heroics for Argentina.

Despite suffering a broken finger in the warmup, Martinez chose to play through the pain as Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 to claim the Europa League title...

A broken finger picked up in the warmup did not stop Emiliano Martinez from playing a key role in Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over Freiburg in Wednesday’s Europa League final. The victory gave Villa their first trophy in 30 years.

The 33-year-old Argentina international decided to play on after a physio checked his finger. He chose to push through the pain despite the risk of making the injury worse before Argentina’s World Cup title defence starts next month.

Martinez joined Villa in 2020 and has played more than 250 games for the club. He was also key in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win in Qatar, producing decisive penalty shootout saves.

“Today I broke my finger during warm-ups, but I didn't see it as ⁠a bad thing,” Martinez told ESPN after the match, laughing off the injury.

“I've never broken a finger before and every time I tried ‌to catch the ball, the finger would just slip away in the other direction. But, these are just things you have to go through.”

Europa League winners 🧤#UELfinal | @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/4DVRN18mTF

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 21, 2026