Tielemans: I owe Aston Villa the world but Manchester United are above them

Youri Tielemans, who has 90 caps for Belgium and played at the 2026 World Cup, said he owes Aston Villa "the world" but that Manchester United are "one of" the clubs above them after United triggered a £35m release clause in July to sign him on a five-year deal while he was on World Cup duty.

Manchester United had pursued Tielemans previously in 2019 and again in 2022 after his loan spell at Leicester, but deals did not materialise on those occasions. He described his mindset during the latest move: "There had been two times that I spoke with the club, but it did not achieve anything," he recalled. "I was very calm. I was not expecting much this summer, to be fair. I was just focused on my football, focused on the World Cup and trying to perform my best for my country. "But you know every summer something can happen, and obviously I was aware of the clause."

Tielemans paid tribute to Villa for reviving his form while also underlining the step up to Old Trafford. "I am very thankful to Aston Villa. I owe them the world. It is a great club, we did amazing things, and they have put me back to my best level. But there are clubs above Villa, and Manchester United is one of them. "It is a great achievement for any footballer to end up here. It means you have done well in your career. But it does not end there. I want to be successful."

He conducted his first extended media interview since leaving Villa in a relaxed manner, making a point of shaking hands with the journalists present and smiling when asked about adding goals at United. Asked whether he can bring goals to Manchester United, he replied: "That's the aim." The midfielder pointed to past decisive moments, having scored Leicester's winner in the 2021 FA Cup final and the opener for Villa in their Europa League triumph over Freiburg in May.

Tielemans said an on-field partnership with captain Bruno Fernandes is already forming after their brief time together against Paris St-Germain. Senior Manchester United officials noticed the link in Gothenburg despite the pair sharing only 26 minutes in the 1-1 draw: "It's really natural," he said. "He is a guy that can find space easily. I just try and find him so that he can move forward."

Reflecting on his physical condition and workload, Tielemans noted his long career and recent tournament fatigue; he made his professional debut for Anderlecht at 16 and has played 668 games for club and country. He withdrew from Belgium's World Cup quarter-final with Spain after a warm-up issue and explained: "I feel very good, actually," he said. "In that last game, it was just an overload of too many games; too many minutes. Unfortunately, my body could not cope with it any more. "We played 120 minutes against Senegal, then played the US a few days later, three days after that we played against Spain. "In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason. "I do not think I am a player that absolutely needs a rest. Obviously, there are a lot of games, and the manager needs to manage the team, but when I am good, I am good. "When it does not go well, I will know straight away and I will alert the manager. But it does not happen often."

Familiar faces have helped him settle at United: Jonny Evans, a former Leicester team-mate, remains close to Tielemans and provided a positive character reference to head coach Michael Carrick, while he also played alongside Harry Maguire at Leicester and Marcus Rashford at Aston Villa. On Rashford's return to United, Tielemans said: "He was great. "There had been so much talk about him, bringing pressure and the media around him, but he was so good. "He was very humble and hard-working, and from the first training session you could tell his touch and acceleration was just amazing. That was what we needed at the time. He did many good things and hopefully he can bring them here."

Tielemans said he had a brief conversation with Carrick before completing his move and that recent days have clarified the manager's demands. "He wants me to be free on the pitch, to try and organise the team the best I can," he said. "He has got his structure. He wants to have the ball and wants to press in certain ways. "It might be different than what I am used to, but it is logical things in my opinion. "It is just smelling football, which is what I have been doing from when I was young at Anderlecht, you know. "For me, nothing changes, but it just needs to gel together."