Dean Saunders was simultaneously hailed as a legend and blasted for losing the plot on Tuesday morning after he told talkSPORT: ‘Aston Villa are a bigger club than Chelsea’.
The former Villans striker made the bold claim on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, insisting that if you look back through football’s history books, it’s clear to see Villa are bigger than the Blues.
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Aston Villa players celebrate winning promotion back to the Premier League with victory in the Championship play-off final
The Midlands club will be back in the Premier League next season, having ended their three-year stay in the Championship by beating Derby County in the play-off final last month.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have just been crowned Europa League champions for the second time after beating Arsenal 4-1 in the final in Baku.
Yet, Saunders has sensationally claimed Villa are a bigger club.
Well, it may seem like a sensational statement now, but Aston Villa are the fifth most successful club in English football, with Chelsea sitting fourth having won just four more major trophies in their history.
Both clubs have won the European Cup once, but Villa have actually won more top flight titles.
Chelsea also only won eight of their 24 major honours before Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003.
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Major honours counted as season-long competitions (Charity/Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup not included), and no one-off competitions tallied towards total. European trophies include: European Cup/Champions League, Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup/Europa League and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Only top flight league titles are counted as major honours.
But this was lost on a host of supporters as Saunders’ comments sparked outrage on social media… although a number of Villa fans obviously agreed with his view.
The Welshman told talkSPORT: “The owner of Chelsea has got more money than Villa, so he has made Chelsea into a big club.
“But actually, traditionally, Aston Villa are a bigger club than Chelsea if you go back over the years.
“If Roman Abramovich had gone to Villa, they’d be in the same position as Chelsea. He’s piled a load of money in and bought the best players.
“What would happen in Abramovich left?
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Chelsea added another Europa League to their impressive trophy collection since Abramovich’s takeover
“I’m not just winding up the Chelsea fans and I’m not just saying it because I played for them [Villa].
“If you go back over history Aston Villa are a bigger club than Chelsea. They’re a massive club, they’ve won everything.”
He then asked Alan Brazil: “Al, when you played for Ipswich, who were a bigger club, Chelsea or Villa?”
And the Sports Breakfast host replied: “That’s a good point Deano.
“Chelsea were struggling, they weren’t in the top flight, and Villa won the European Cup and the old First Division title in 1981.”
You can watch the full clip of Saunders and Brazil discussing Aston Villa and Chelsea above
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