UNAI EMERY has signed a bumper new five-year contract which ties him to Aston Villa until 2029.
It is the news that every Villa fan has been longing to hear after the Spaniard transformed their club from Championship dodgers to Champions League contenders in 19 eventful months.
And it is the perfect way to begin the club's 150th Anniversary season as the Birmingham side looks to celebrate being back in the big time after years of stagnation.
Emery said: “I am very happy to take this step and the responsibility of leading this club."
Chairman Nassef Sawiris said: “We are building something special here at Aston Villa with Unai at its core and we are delighted that he has signed a new deal with the club until 2029.
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“As we move into our historic, 150th anniversary year, there is a lot to look forward to with Unai at the helm.”
Emery has been rewarded by billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens for transforming the club's fortunes following a high-level meeting this week.
Villa's owners met with Emery, the club's President of Football, Monchi, and Director of Football Damian Vidagany to review the season.
But top of their list of priorities was to tie their Spanish boss down on a lucrative new five-year deal.
SunSport understands Emery will become the highest paid boss in Villa's history and will pocket a cool basic £8million a season before bonuses - or around £154,000 a week.
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The Spaniard said: “Since I came to Villa with Wes and Nassef we always found the best environment and structure to develop a project with the highest ambition.
“All the football structure with Monchi and Damian and the owners, we share the same vision and same goals.
“There’s a great chemistry in Aston Villa. And the element of the fans’ support also makes the difference to feel like home.
"We are really excited to continue this journey with no limits to our dreams.”
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Emery's impact at Villa Park has been sensational and Sawiris and Edens wanted to reward him for leading the Villans to a surprise fourth place finish last season.
That remarkable achievement, with an injury-hit squad, secured Champions' League qualification for the first time in 41 years and European qualification for the first time since 2010.
The 52-year-old also led Villa to the brink of the Uefa Conference League final, losing out to Olympiakos in their first European semi-final for 42 years.
That achievement resulted in Villa triggering a one-year-option to extend Emery's contract until 2027.
However Sawiris and Edens made it clear that they wanted to tie Emery down on an even longer deal, as some of Europe's biggest clubs including Barcelona, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool cast envious eyes towards the successful Spaniard.
They will be delighted they now have the stability they want as they embark on Champions League football, well ahead of the five-year target they had set Emery to achieve their No.1 target.
Emery made it clear in April when he agreed to his short-term extension that he wanted to stay at Villa Park and return Villa to their historic place at English football's top table.
He said: “We are enjoying our way together with Villa fans, the club owners, management and this great group of players that we are proud of.
“Me and the football management… we share the vision of the owners. Nassef and Wes are very supportive and respectful, and we have a good environment and the right structure to develop this football club.
"Ambition already is, and must always be, the motto of this project.”
