The Aston Villa Cast-Off Who Could Rewrite European History
On a warm Istanbul night, Aston Villa finally stepped back into the European spotlight. Youri Tielemans struck first, then Emiliano Buendia bent the game to his will. Morgan Rogers finished the job. Freiburg were swept aside 3-0 in the Europa League final at Besiktas Park, and a club starved of major silverware since 1996 suddenly looked like it belonged on this stage again.
Unai Emery, the competition’s master, climbed another rung on his own ladder of legend. Five Europa League titles now. No manager has ever done it better.
Yet while Villa’s players paraded the trophy in claret and blue, one name was nowhere near the celebrations – and he might just be on the brink of something no footballer has ever done.
Evann Guessand.
A Season Split in Two
Guessand did not kick a ball in Istanbul. He was not even in the squad. The Ivory Coast international, signed from Reims last summer for an initial £30.5 million, has lived this season on the margins of the story he could end up defining.
He arrived as one of only two permanent senior additions to Villa’s squad. Big fee, big expectations, but little noise. His impact came quietly in the Europa League group stage: seven appearances, two goals, the kind of solid contribution that rarely makes headlines but absolutely counts when medals are handed out.
Those minutes matter now. They make him eligible for a Europa League winners’ medal despite his absence from the final. The rules are clear: he did enough.
Then the narrative twisted.
In January, Villa sent Guessand on loan to Crystal Palace. From a club chasing Europa League glory to another side building a run of their own in the Europa Conference League. Different shirt, same continent, new opportunity.
From Istanbul to Selhurst Park
At Palace, Guessand has not been a headline act either, but again, he has been part of the story. Five appearances in the Conference League. Enough to help Palace reach their first European final, where they will face Rayo Vallecano next Wednesday.
Win that, and Guessand will stand alone in the record books.
No player in European football history has ever won two different UEFA continental competitions in the same season. Not Cristiano Ronaldo. Not Lionel Messi. Not any of the great serial winners who dominated Europe for a generation.
Guessand, a forward whose season has been sliced between two clubs and two competitions, is now one game away from doing exactly that.
Injury, Return, and a Date With History
His route has not been smooth. In March, during the Conference League quarter-final against Fiorentina, Guessand suffered a knee injury that threatened to derail everything. The momentum stalled, his season looked in danger of drifting away.
He fought back. On Sunday, he returned to the pitch, coming on in stoppage time during Palace’s 2-2 draw with Brentford. Just a cameo, but a crucial one: it puts him back in the frame ahead of the final against Rayo Vallecano.
If Palace lift the Conference League trophy, Guessand will complete a double no one has ever managed – Europa League winner with Aston Villa, Conference League winner with Crystal Palace, all in the same campaign.
Not as a superstar. Not as the face on the billboard. As the man who did enough, in both colours, to count.
A Future in South London
His story will not end with the final whistle next Wednesday. The 24-year-old is expected to sign permanently for Palace this summer. The club is bracing for change, with manager Oliver Glasner set to depart, and they need building blocks for the next era.
Guessand might arrive in that new chapter already carrying two European winners’ medals from one season – something no player, at any club, has ever done.
For now, the numbers are simple. Seven games and two goals for Villa in the Europa League. Five games for Palace on their Conference League march. One final left.
Villa’s night in Istanbul has already secured him a place in their history books. Ninety minutes against Rayo Vallecano could yet place his name in European football’s.
