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Aston Villa owner Tony Xia targets Champions League

Roberto Di Matteo pictured with Aston Villa owner Tony Xia
Image: Aston Villa owner Tony Xia (L) has set his sights on the Champions League

New Aston Villa owner Tony Xia hopes to win the Champions League within the next 10 years.

The Chinese businessman completed his takeover of the Sky Bet Championship club on Tuesday and replaced American Randy Lerner, who had been looking to sell his majority stake since 2014. 

Villa won the European Cup in 1982, defeating German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final, but dropped out of the Premier League last season following a disastrous campaign, winning just three matches. 

They are preparing for their first season outside of the top-flight since 1987, but Xia has big ambitions for Villa and hopes to lead them back to European glory during his time at the club. 

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New Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo insists he's looking forward to rebuilding the club following their relegation from the Premier League

"We don't have a very detailed plan but we have a vision that we will challenge to get back into the Premier League and we will be challenging when we get back," he said.

"The aim, not just the hope, is to get back in European field within five years and I wish we can succeed to get another trophy like we have here in eight or 10 years.

"That is not an exact number, but we want to win the European Cup.

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"After we get back to the Premier League, we have to know who are the other teams we need to compete with.

"You have to know the whole system of this business and you have to know who else you have to compete with."

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Xia believes a successful season in the Championship could build a platform for years of success

New Aston Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo is currently preparing for the new season and has vowed to unify the club as they target an immediate return to the Premier League. 

The club are currently reviewing their recruitment structure after the former regime blew around £55m on new signings last summer. 

Xia was critical over the role current director of scouting and recruitment Paddy Riley played in that spend. 

"Honestly, everyone should agree with me, that he didn't do too well," he added.

"So people should understand what he has to do, what responsibility he has to take. We will discuss this very shortly."

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