Gabby Agbonlahor’s anger towards Roberto Di Matteo has resurfaced after Stiliyan Petrov reflected on the painful end to his attempted Aston Villa comeback.
Petrov joined Agbonlahor on the latest episode of In The Mixer, where the former Villa captain revisited his recovery from acute leukaemia and his attempt to return to professional football in 2016. The episode was released last week and specifically revisits how Di Matteo stood in the way of that playing comeback.
According to BirminghamLive, Agbonlahor’s feelings remain so strong that he still avoids events involving the former Villa manager because of how Petrov’s return was handled.
Almost a decade later, it remains one of the more uncomfortable episodes from Villa’s chaotic 2016 reset.
Stiliyan Petrov fought for one more Aston Villa chance
Petrov’s comeback was never simply a normal contract negotiation.
The Bulgarian had stepped away from football after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March 2012. After recovering, he rebuilt his fitness and was invited back into Villa’s first-team environment ahead of the 2016/17 Championship campaign.
Read Aston Villa was covering that journey from the beginning, including Petrov’s declaration that he wanted to play for Villa again before pre-season began.
He then achieved something few could have imagined four years earlier.
Petrov pulled on a Villa shirt again during an 8-0 friendly victory over GAK in Austria, playing the second half after recovering from cancer.
His return also resonated deeply inside the dressing room. Jack Grealish publicly praised the former captain during that summer, with Read Aston Villa documenting Grealish’s admiration for Petrov during the comeback attempt.
But the fairytale stopped there.
Di Matteo decided Villa would not offer Petrov a playing contract.
Roberto Di Matteo made ruthless Aston Villa decision
The decision was not quite as simple as Villa abandoning Petrov.
Di Matteo described him as an inspiration and offered him the opportunity to stay at Villa in a different role. Petrov, however, wanted to finish his career as a footballer rather than move immediately into coaching.
That distinction matters.
There is no evidence Di Matteo lacked respect for Petrov. From a manager’s perspective, he had inherited a relegated club requiring a major rebuild and had to make hard football decisions.
But Petrov later said the manner of the rejection hurt because he had completed the physical work required during pre-season and was not given a clear explanation for why he could not continue.
Agbonlahor viewed it much more emotionally.
His anger was already public years ago. In 2020, he accused Di Matteo of being “ruthless and heartless” for not giving Petrov an opportunity after everything he had overcome.
The latest discussion makes clear that resentment has not disappeared.
Di Matteo rebuild failed to give Aston Villa stability
History inevitably colours the argument.
If Di Matteo’s ruthless reset had transformed Villa, the Petrov decision might now be viewed differently.
Instead, it became part of an unsuccessful four-month reign.
Villa spent heavily rebuilding a squad following relegation, but Di Matteo was dismissed after only 124 days, having won just one of his 11 Championship matches. Villa were 19th when the club acted.
That does not prove keeping Petrov would have changed anything.
It does, however, help explain why the decision still jars with people who understood what he represented.
Petrov was more than another midfielder trying to earn a contract. He had captained Villa, fought through an extraordinary illness and worked his way back into a professional dressing room.
His status at Villa Park has endured long after Di Matteo’s brief spell ended. Read Aston Villa ranked him among the club’s greatest captains earlier this year.
For Agbonlahor, that appears to be the point.
Di Matteo made a football decision.
But for those who shared the dressing room with Petrov, it was never only about football.
