
The Football Faithful
·15 April 2025
Why Aston Villa loanee Marco Asensio can play against parent club PSG tonight

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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·15 April 2025
For the second time in six days, Marco Asensio will face his parent club PSG when they play Aston Villa in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.
The Spaniard joined Villa on loan from the French champions in the January transfer window and has been an instant hit in English football.
Asensio has scored eight goals in 12 games for the Villans, which is more than he managed in a year and a half at the Parc des Princes. Luis Enrique’s men managed to keep him quiet last week as he failed to make an impact from the bench, touching the ball just six times in a 3-1 first leg defeat.
The 29-year-old is likely to feature again at Villa Park – but how is it possible for a loan player to face his parent club?
The Premier League does not allow a loan player to against their parent club, a rule that has been in place for two decades. Uefa, on the other hand, have implemented the opposite policy.
UEFA rules dictate that a club cannot “either directly or indirectly have any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition”.
Asensio is therefore free to face PSG and will be tasked with eliminating a side to which he is still contracted. Enrique has admitted he is delighted to see the loanee thriving, though is obviously hoping he has another quiet night against his team.
“I am delighted he can play,” said Enrique at his pre-match press conference ahead of last week’s first leg.
“He wasn’t getting the game time he wanted here and he had the opportunity to go to Birmingham. It is good that he is playing.
“I have shared a lot with him with the national team. He came to the World Cup with me and was very important, and he was important for us last season and at the start of this season. He is a top-class player.”