Aston Villa star reveals brutal snub from Ballon d'Or winner as Hibs hero admits 'he absolutely pied me'

The Hibs hero now at Aston Villa has revealed a funny tale with a football legend.

The Easter Road hero has shared a funny tale

Aston Villa captain and Hibs hero John McGinn has revealed how he was left hanging by a Ballon d’Or winner.

The midfielder has been listening to German icon Lothar Matthaus talk up current Villans boss Unai Emery for a shot at the Bayern Munich job. McGinn moved to Birmingham in 2018 from Easter Road and under the former Arsenal and Sevilla boss, he has thrived.

Also a key player for Steve Clarke’s Scotland, that didn’t help the midfielder when running into Matthaus on a middle-east adventure. And it is something he hasn’t let go of, as Aston Villa progress in the Europa Conference League with a penalty kicks win over Lille. He told Birmingham Live when asked about Matthaus comments over Emery: "I'm still a bit wounded. I said hello to Lothar Matthaus in Dubai and he absolutely pied me!

“I was actually in a lift with him and said hello. And he completely ignored me. That wasn't that good. He [Emery] is going to get linked with teams but I hope he's happy here. We love having him and his staff here and hopefully they are going to be here for many years to come.

“He's brilliant to watch [on the touchline]. On Thursday when it went to extra-time and penalties, my performance did not deserve that, so just watching the way he picked the penalties, he was looking everyone up and down.

“We have another big game Saturday and want to make it nine points clear and give ourselves a chance to do something special."