Emery, ambitious and grateful
"I thank Fernando (Roig) for the professional and affectionate relationship we have had. Above all, with respect. I thank Villarreal and José Manuel Llaneza, all the employees, the technicians who come with me and those who stay at the club, for whom I have great affection. I also thank all of Villarreal for the moments we have lived and shared. I came looking for a different place to achieve some challenges that Villarreal had almost reached and I had almost reached. The club gave me the opportunity to do that for two and a half years. We have been up to the task and that means that the three of us can be grateful to each other."
Personal and professional decision
"It is a professional and personal decision. At the age of 24, I left my home, Hondarribia, Real Sociedad, and I opened up to the professional world with all the consequences. With my suitcase and with many difficult and beautiful moments outside my comfort zone. Here I found a very important part of my family and I have once again felt something of my heart. I felt that I had to take this opportunity as a challenge and a different sporting project."
Why is he leaving now and not a year ago?
"They are different moments, opportunities and contexts. Last year I thought no and this year I thought yes, putting everything in the balance a little bit from the professional side."
Why he is leaving for Aston Villa
"I only want to talk about Villarreal and what we have experienced, I want to focus on this moment. Tomorrow, Wednesday, a new stage begins and I will talk about it."
On whether he has spoken to his former players
"With the players yesterday, Monday was a rest day and I want to say goodbye with them. This team is very mature, very professional and has lived through many situations. That's why we have achieved European success. The players adapt to different messages. I am happy with the way they have responded to what we have demanded and what I liked the most is the union and the chemistry that existed. A coach will come in with a different message, but the players will work. Some will miss me more or less, but they understand that because they are professionals."
Message to the fans
"Villarreal will continue to live and endure thanks to this great solid and proven project with the Roig family."
What he takes away from Villarreal
"Here I have been very much me. It was the perfect project and the perfect place for me. They gave me the conditions to be me at my best. But you have to continue to have professional challenges. At Villarreal I have had a home".
When did he tell Roig
"I called Fernando on Friday to tell him about the situation, I wanted to share it with him and I wanted to play the game on Sunday and on Monday we would meet again. We set those deadlines because the game was very important for me. Yesterday, Monday, it was triggered. I called Fernando when something more serious was on the table."
He's going to 15th in the Premier League
"When you make an important decision you have to have a bigger vision. It is clear that I am leaving a team in Europe. I was grateful for Villarreal's previous work, which allowed me to continue playing in Europe, something I have done non-stop since 2008. I won the Europa League thanks to the work that Calleja and his coaching staff did, and I added my experience. Every league, every club and every context is different. It's not that it's better or worse, it's different. I leave a very lively project in the Conference League, in LaLiga and in the Copa del Rey. I will have others.
Fernando Roig has assessed Emery's time at Villarreal.
"We are here to talk about the unilateral termination of Unai's contract. He has fulfilled the contract he had with Villarreal and I thank him for the work he has done with his technical team over the years. We have had a fluid relationship, with respect, affection and professionalism on both sides. He has led us to become champions of the Europa league and to play an extraordinary role in the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals. But he is a professional and he has been given an opportunity thanks to his work and the resources that Villarreal put at his disposal."
"We were caught on the wrong foot in the middle of the season, on top of this very rare championship. We have a great relationship and we thank him for everything, but what I said before is that he has left us on the wrong foot. We wish him well and thank him for his time with us. It's been a bit of a mess-up for us, but we will bounce back and, in the face of adversity and change, we always get stronger. The future will come from tomorrow, Wednesday. Now it's Unai Emery, his work and his gratitude. We've been a bit disappointed, but we thank him and wish him all the best, except on the day we face him."
