Royal Analyst: How Prince William impressed the internet with his football punditry on Champions League night

On Champions League nights, the spotlight usually belongs to star forwards, managers in tailored coats, and goalkeepers clawing away history at the far post. But on April 9, 2025, at Paris’s Parc des Princes, during Aston Villa’s tense quarter-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain, another unlikely figure stole the show — Prince William.The heir to the British throne, long known as a committed Aston Villa supporter, joined pundits Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist on TNT Sports for pre-match coverage. Sitting in the studio clad in a Villa scarf, William offered remarkably articulate, precise, and deeply informed commentary on the game ahead.He wasn’t there to wave and smile. He wasn’t reading from notes. He was riffing on Unai Emery’s use of a high line and pointing out PSG’s issues adjusting to life after Kylian Mbappé. He mentioned Villa’s pressing structures, dissected Youri Tielemans’ evolving role in midfield, and offered a balanced take on how Emery might counteract PSG’s relentless transitions.Ferdinand, visibly impressed, jokingly warned the prince not to pursue punditry full-time, lest he put the professionals out of work. Viewers on social media echoed the sentiment: “He actually knows ball” became a meme in real time.But here’s the thing — this wasn’t a fluke.Prince William’s tactical fluency and off-the-cuff analysis didn’t appear from nowhere. For anyone paying close attention to his public life, it’s been clear for some time that his knowledge of football runs deep. The studio appearance simply confirmed it to a wider audience.Back in January 2025, just a few months prior, William made headlines for an entirely different, yet deeply telling football-related outing. With a free hour between royal duties in Birmingham, the Prince asked Aston Villa to arrange a casual meetup with fans — not in a royal box or swanky lounge, but at a Wetherspoon’s pub inside Birmingham New Street station.The request was, in true footballing fashion, delightfully low-key. Steve Jones, chairman of Chasetown FC and a long-time Villa fan, got the call. He and a group of diehards — including his wife, son, and a few regulars from the Legends Lounge at Villa Park — were told only that “someone important” wanted to share a pint before the Everton match later that evening.When Prince William turned up, there was no fanfare. No grand entrances. Just one aide, a few plainclothes protection officers, and a very casual, “Right, shall we have a round?”For 45 minutes, over Bulmers cider, coffee, and sausage rolls, William talked football like a bloke who’d just gotten off a train to meet his mates. According to Jones and fellow fan Darren Johnson, the prince was utterly immersed in the conversation. He wasn’t just nodding along or making diplomatic small talk. He was bringing up the West Ham game, debating Unai Emery’s second-half substitutions, and offering an informed opinion on potential January transfers.He even discussed Villa’s positioning tweaks, referencing Tielemans’ deeper role and changes to the team’s double pivot. His audience was stunned. “We were like, ‘What?’” said Jones. “He knew everything. He didn’t have to look to his aides — it just came naturally.”This wasn't idle fandom. William talked about profit and sustainability rules, the structure of Chelsea’s women's team sale, and even hinted — to the delight of his audience — that he reads and occasionally contributes to online fan forums under pseudonyms.And, crucially, he did all of it with the unfiltered passion of someone who has suffered and soared with their team. William has followed Villa since his youth, attending matches at Wembley and Villa Park, writing letters to players like Jack Grealish and Stiliyan Petrov in moments of crisis, and becoming known among the squad. He’s been to training grounds. He texts players. He watches nearly every game with his son, Prince George, also a budding Villa fan — as long as, in William’s own words, “it’s not Chelsea.”So when William broke down PSG’s transitional weaknesses and Villa’s mid-block shape on TNT Sports in April, it didn’t come off as an over-rehearsed PR stunt or a royal trying to fit in. It was natural. It was fluent. It was the culmination of years of actually watching, learning, and loving football.The reaction online confirmed it. Viewers weren’t just charmed by a prince showing up on a sports panel. They were caught off guard by how genuinely good he was. He wasn’t just parroting Gary Neville or Michael Cox. He was offering his own take, informed by a blend of lived experience and long-term observation. He sounded less like a figurehead and more like a mate you’d find dissecting Villa’s form in the pub after a 2-2 draw.This sense of relatability, of football as common ground, may be part of why the moment resonated so widely. In a country where the monarchy is often seen as distant and out-of-touch, watching the future king earnestly debate midfield triangles was humanising in a way few staged appearances ever manage. It wasn’t a photo op. It was a vibe check — and he passed.Whether Prince William returns to the pundit’s chair is anyone’s guess. TNT Sports presenters have already joked that his spot is always open, and social media is certainly ready for a recurring segment: “Wills Talks Tactics.” But even if this was a one-off, it did something important.It reminded the public that fandom isn’t about status. It’s about obsession, heartbreak, unending loyalty, and yes, a few burner accounts. And Prince William, for all his titles, clearly shares in the madness.So the next time someone tells you the royals don’t understand the real world, remind them that one of them is posting on Villa forums, talking double pivots over pints, and breaking down PSG’s defensive structure on live television — and doing it better than half the pundits on air.Long live the (football) king.