Aston Villa star Marco Asensio has the chance to haunt his parent club, Paris Saint-Germain, thanks to a unique UEFA ruling. The Spaniard, a three-time Champions League winner, has proven a sensation since joining Villa on loan from PSG in January. Since arriving on deadline day, the attacking midfielder has managed eight goals and an assist from 11 games. Asensio has already scored more goals under Unai Emery in three months than he's managed across the entirety of his spell with PSG. Three of his strikes in a Villa shirt have come in the Champions League, a competition he won three times at Real Madrid. Asensio scored in both legs of the 6-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge in the last-16 to book his loan side's spot in the quarter-finals.
In an ironic turn of events, the 29-year-old will now reunite with PSG after the Ligue 1 giants shockingly eliminated Liverpool last round. Why can Asensio play against PSG? Had this tie been domestic, then Asensio would be forced to sit on the sidelines as a loanee, as per Premier League rules. Fellow loanee Axel Disasi sat out Villa's 2-1 win with his parent club Chelsea in February, while Marcus Rashford won't be able to play against Manchester United next month. Fortunately for Villa, Champions League rules are different, with Emery already facing the reverse earlier in the season.
UEFA's rules state that clubs cannot apply 'any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match'. Asensio will now hope to share the impact of other loan players having an impact against their parent clubs in the Champions League. Philippe Coutinho memorably scored twice for Bayern Munich in their 8-2 win over Barcelona while on a temporary stint in Germany. Bayern also utilized James Rodriguez and Kingsley Coman to both find the net against parent clubs Real Madrid and Juventus. Los Blancos have also been burned by Fernando Morientes when he scored in both legs of a 5-5 away goals defeat to Monaco. Patrick Roberts once earned Celtic a point when he scored in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad while still a registered Manchester City player.
In 2014, UEFA also blocked Chelsea from demanding a fee from Atletico Madrid to field Thibaut Courtois against them in that season's semi-finals - and duly were left to rue their mistake as Diego Simeone’s men were 3-1 victors. PSG vs Aston Villa: talkSPORT coverage. This Champions League quarter-final first leg will take place on Wednesday, April 9. Kick-off at the Parc des Princes is scheduled for 8pm. talkSPORT will have live coverage of all the action from Paris. Adrian Durham will be your host while commentary will be coming from Jim Proudfoot and former Aston Villa captain Andy Townsend. To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
Aston Villa are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after following up their 3-1 first leg victory over Club Brugge with a 3-0 second leg win at Villa Park. A brace from Marco Asensio and one from Ian Maatsen booked Villa's place in the last eight of the continent's top tournament. It means they've positioned themselves almost perfectly for a crack at one of Europe's biggest teams in the quarter-finals; Villa will face Paris Saint Germain after they beat Liverpool on penalties at Anfield on Tuesday evening.
Asensio has now scored seven goals in eight appearances since he joined the club on a loan basis in the winter transfer window - from PSG. It would appear as though Asensio has little future in the French capital where, for the time being, he has another year remaining on his contract with the Ligue 1 giants. Ask Unai Emery, or the average Villa fan on the street and, such is the impact the Spaniard has already made, they'd tell you they'd love to see him return in the summer.
Now it's Villa v PSG in the quarter-finals, can Asensio play against his parent club? The answer, in a word, is yes. While in the Premier League loanees can't play against their parent clubs - Axel Disasi didn't feature against Chelsea, nor will Marcus Rashford against Manchester United in May - but in Europe UEFA's rules are different. UEFA's rules outline that clubs cannot apply “any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match”. Samuel Iling-Junior played against Villa earlier this season for Bologna, while there are other examples down the years of players playing - and having an impact - against their parent clubs, including Philippe Coutinho scoring twice in Bayern Munich's 8-2 win over Barcelona in 2019/20.
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strives to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalize the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here. Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
With three Champions League goals in two appearances, Marco Asensio has been a player reborn while on loan at Aston Villa. Up next for Villa are Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League quarter-finals, and the Spaniard could play a crucial role in helping knock his parent club out of Europe. But why is the attacking midfielder allowed to play against the team that loaned him to Villa, and has this happened before? Why is Asensio allowed to play?
Asensio is eligible to play on Wednesday because UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, states clubs cannot apply "any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match". That is in contrast to the Premier League, as loanees in the English top flight cannot play against the team that holds their registration. Marcus Rashford, for example, won’t be lining up against Manchester United when Villa visit Old Trafford in May.
Premier League rules were changed after Lomana LuaLua scored a late equaliser against his parent club Newcastle in a 1-1 draw while on loan at Portsmouth in the 2003-04 season. Asensio played 135 minutes in the Champions League for PSG this season, but he was able to play for both teams in the group stages as he was registered before the stipulated February 2 deadline, as one of Villa’s three new eligible players who, according to UEFA’s rules, “may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League”.
Have loanees played against parent clubs before in the Champions League? In the group phase, Villa faced one of their players, Samuel Iling-Junior, on loan to Serie A side Bologna at the time, albeit as a 77th-minute substitute. Other loanees have had a more telling impact against their parent clubs in the Champions League. Philippe Coutinho scored twice in Bayern Munich’s 8-2 win over Barcelona in the 2019-20 season, while Thibaut Courtois helped Atletico Madrid knock out Chelsea in the 2014 semi-finals.
Asensio helped book Villa’s place in the last eight by scoring three goals in the last 16 as Villa defeated Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate over two legs. Since moving to Villa on loan until the end of the 2024-25 season in February 2025, Asensio has scored eight goals in 11 appearances. He has managed seven goals in 47 games across all competitions for PSG. Villa, who last won the competition in 1982, have had a fine season, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but PSG remain favorites for the tie after defeating Premier League leaders Liverpool on penalties in the previous round.
