Despite Aston Villa only winning the European Cup once, Prince William has been a long-time supporter of the Birmingham-based club – a rather surprising choice for the London-based royal. Last year, the Prince of Wales, 42, was spotted enjoying a pint of cider with Villa supporters at a Wetherspoon’s pub in Birmingham New Street Station. And on Wednesday he was pictured cheering in the stands with Prince George as his beloved team took on Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes. The future monarch even tried his hand at TV punditry ahead of the match, referencing old games and players by name. ‘We all saw the Liverpool game,’ he told TNT Sports hosts Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist. ‘PSG’s intensity, in the first leg, they were unbelievable. They gave a lot of pressure, they press very high. So for Unai tonight, and team, it’s about managing that press.’ Former Manchester United defender Ferdinand was full of praise for the royal, joking: ‘Do not go for a punditry job, please, because I could be out of the game. The way he just dissected that there, I’m going to nick that for later on.’ But William’s love for ‘The Villans’ started long before this season for a rather strange reason. The Prince of Wales explained to the BBC in 2015: ‘A long time ago at school, I got into football, big time. I was looking around for a club to support, and all my friends at school were either Manchester United fans or Chelsea fans.’ Determined not to follow a ‘run-of-the-mill’ team, William opted to support Aston Villa. In a recent interview with The Sun, the prince revealed he had a ‘nice connection’ with the club as they lifted the European Cup in 1982 – ‘the year I was born’. ‘I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table, that could give me the more emotional rollercoaster moments,’ he explained. ‘To be honest, now, looking back, that was a bad idea – I could have had an easier time!’ William confirmed that family friends who were ‘big Villa fans’ took him to one of his first FA cup games at the age of 17. It was the semi-final between the Bolton Wanderers versus Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium on April 2, 2000 – a match that certainly would have set the prince’s heart racing. The agonisingly close game went into penalties when Aston Villa thankfully emerged triumphant, winning 4-1. ‘It was fantastic,’ the prince recalled. ‘I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie, and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.’ Although Villa did not go on to win the FA cup that year, William was not put off. ‘I kept an eye on Villa from then on but didn’t get too involved initially,’ he told The Sun. ‘But Villa being relegated to the Championship in 2016 got me even more interested, strangely.’ Since, Prince William has been a regular if anonymous contributor to online discussion sites. One of the eight Villa supporters to meet the prince at Wetherspoon’s in Birmingham, Steve Jones revealed: ‘He said he keeps abreast of Villa gossip because he is on all the fans’ forums. ‘He goes under different names and he posts on there because that’s how he gets the feeling of what’s going on and what’s the opinion.’ William’s favourite villa player? Paul McGrath – a stalwart defender nicknamed ‘God’ who played for Villa between 1989 and 1996. The Prince of Wales, who now lives between Kensington Palace in London and Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, admitted that getting to Villa Park ‘isn’t the easiest thing for me’. But he tries his best to attend all the Champions League game – often with childhood friend Thomas Van Straubenzee as well as William and Edward Van Cutsem. The prince first met Thomas van Straubenzee at the Berkshire prep school Ludgrove. Van Straubenzee went on to serve as an usher alongside James Meade at William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, and shared the toast at the reception. As for the van Cutsem brothers, William has been close to them since early childhood as they grew up on Sandringham estate. Their connection was fostered, in part, by King Charles who was friends with the boys’ father Hugh van Cutsem from their time spent studying at the University of Cambridge together. When William can’t travel to attend Villa matches with his friends, he watches them on TV with his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – all of whom have Villa shirts. ‘I do have a bit of superstition about where I sit when I’m watching them,’ William told The Sun. ‘If we’re not doing very well, I start moving round the house quite quickly and I put the children in different positions hoping that’s going to change our luck.’ But George, now 11, has shown further interest in supporting The Claret and Blue as the little prince has been spotted at Villa Park as well as at away games with his father and friends. Speaking at the Villa match against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, William told the TNT Sports hosts: ‘I want George to experience a night-out away from home in a big European competition. ‘I think those memories are really important to create and bringing him along tonight is a big deal to me,’ he added. George’s presence has fulfilled William’s dream that he would one day be able to share his passion for the club with one of his children. ‘He can support whoever he wants, but if he supports Villa it would be fantastic,’ the prince told Gary Lineker in 2015 when George was two years old, ‘because I’d love to be able to go to the odd match with him in the future.’ As Mike Tindall, the former England rugby international who is married to King Charles’s niece Zara, confirmed last year, that mission has been accomplished. ‘George loves his football,’ said Tindall. ‘He’s passionate about Aston Villa, too. Wherever he is, he’ll sit down and watch that game.’ Like father, like son.