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Emi Martinez might be the biggest wind-up merchant in the world of football
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Aston Villa star Emi Martinez might a subtle change to his hairstyle ahead of his match against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League - in a clear dig to the fans.
Martinez was heavily booed as he made his way onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes in Paris and he has bad blood with French fans from the 2022 World Cup final.
But the Argentina international simply revels in being the pantomime villain - even in the cauldron on noise that is the Parc des Princes.
And in a classic Martinez move, the goalkeeper has dyed his hair in the colours of the Argentina flag - exactly like he did during the World Cup final.
Emi Martinez is dedicated to winding up the French fans
TNT Sports
He even pulled his sock down during the warm-up to show his World Cup tattoo, then stretching his leg in front of a bloodthirsty crowd.
All eyes were on Martinez before a ball had been kicked due to his past with the French fans,
Even arriving in the city, the goalkeeper was seen wearing his international cap from the World Cup final, having caused chaos in Doha three years ago.
The Aston Villa star proved crucial as he made save after save in the final, including against Randal Kolo Muani in the last seconds of extra-time with the scores locked at 3-3.
But in the resulting penalty shootout, Martinez infuriated France with his attempts at gamesmanship, including delaying Kingsley Coman's spot-kick, which he went on to save.
The next penalty, he picked up the ball before Aurelien Tchouameni was set to shoot and threw it away, with the Real Madrid star then hitting his shot wide.
Argentina went on to win the shootout after Gonzalo Montiel netted the crucial spot-kick, seeing them win their third World Cup and first since 1986.
Martinez further incensed French fans during Argentina's World Cup parade.
"I genuinely think he loves it." 🤣
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 9, 2025
Emi Martinez is booed as he enters the Parc des Princes pitch 👀
🎙 @ReshminTV | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/144sUB6f9s
He was seen dancing and celebrating with a baby doll with Kylian Mbappe's face on it.
So with the lights on in Paris, Martinez was under no illusions that he was set for a long night.
And the former Arsenal ace was called into action of several occasions with efforts from Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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Emi Martinez knows how to get under the skin of French fans
Reuters
But it was Villa who scored first against the run of play when John McGinn robbed Nuno Mendes of the ball near the halfway line.
After rampaging up the pitch to find Youri Tielemans, the Belgian slid the ball across the face of the goal to find Morgan Rogers, who tapped home to open the scoring.
Villa's celebrations did not last long, though, as Desire Doue then lost Rogers on the left-hand side to gorgeous curling shot right into the corner after cutting in - leaving Martinez with no chance.