Ashley Young's family life, famous son, £200k cancelled wedding and Lewis Hamilton link
Ashley Young is back at Villa Park for Aston Villa versus Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals as part of the Amazon Prime television coverage
Aston Villa fans watching the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain on television will see a familiar face on their screens as Ashley Young is back at Villa Park on Tuesday night for Prime Video.
This latest return comes six months after being in B6 for the 1-0 win over Bayern Munich as part of the TNT Sports coverage. Villa supporters will hope their former player's presence is a good omen for another famous night.
Young is already beginning a broadcasting career despite still playing for Everton. He has made 31 appearances this season, including starting both Premier League matches against Villa.
However, the former England international is in the final months of his current contract. That deal is due to expire weeks after Young will turn 40 years old on July 9.
He also made history in December by becoming Everton's oldest-ever goalscorer after scoring a free-kick in their 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park.
While he is in the twilight of his career, his teenage son Tyler has broken into the Peterborough United team this season. After joining the Arsenal academy - the team his father is a fan of - at 7, he had spells at Milton Keynes Dons and Queens Park Rangers before signing for Posh last summer after impressing with the first team while on trial during pre-season.
During the EFL Trophy group stages, the midfielder debuted against Stevenage - the town where he was born. He has also been named on the bench four times without coming on.
Earlier this year, Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson chose not to bring Tyler on during their FA Cup third-round tie against Everton. A father and son have never played against each other in the competition's 154-year history.
"It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I've got to do what I think is best for the team," Ferguson said of his decision after the game.
"As much as I wanted Tyler to get on, if the game had been 2-0 at that point I would've put him on but at 1-0, I had to get a forward on. I've got to try and get something out of the game and do what is best for my team.
"One of their [Everton] players had a pop at me, which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case."
Days later, his younger brother Lewis was on the touchline at The Den in caretaker charge of Dagenham & Redbridge for their tie against Millwall. He has since signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to continue his managerial career.
Young also has a younger brother, Kyle, who was in the Arsenal academy before joining Lewis at Watford and now plays in the Hitchin Sunday Football League for Squirrel Taverners. Less is, though, known publicly about his wife, Nicky Pike.
They started dating at school and were first due to marry in 2011, the year Young left Villa to join Manchester United. However, they cancelled those plans for a reported £200,000 wedding at The Grove Hotel in Watford two days beforehand.
After briefly separating, they soon got back together and wedded four years later during a low-key ceremony at Stoke Place Hotel in Buckinghamshire. Two former Villa teammates who attended the wedding were Fabrice Muamba and Stiliyan Petrov.
Tyler was 10 then, and the couple also have a younger daughter, Ellearana. Young also attended Saint John Henry Newman, the same school as the Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
Both were in the same year group and got on well, playing together for the school team during their time there. Young has previously claimed that Hamilton thought he was the better player back then.
"He (Hamilton) said he was a better footballer than me, but I think he’s better at his driving." When asked further, Young added: "No, he weren’t too bad. He was an alright player."
Aston Villa face PSG in the Champions League quarter-final on April 15 and fans can watch it free with an Amazon Prime subscription or by signing up for a 30-day free trial.
More Champions League and Europa League games are available on TNT Sports via the Discovery+ Premium Prime Video channel.