Fans arriving at Upton Park were treated to a parting gift from Olof Mellberg as the Swede gave every single member of the travelling Claret and Blue Army a Villa shirt.
Just over 3,200 Villa fans made the trip to West Ham for Mellberg's final game before a summer move to Juventus - many of them dressed as Vikings in honour of the Swedish international.
And Mellberg decided to show his devotion and gratitude to the Villa faithful by saying farewell in style.
The shirts, a combination of home and away tops, were printed 'Mellberg 4 - Thanks For Your Support'.
The Swede said : "This is just the perfect way to say goodbye to the fans and to thank them for all their support in my time at Villa.
"I've been asked for lots of shirts over the years and sometimes I have been able to help, sometimes I have not been able to help.
"I wanted to do something special for my last game and this just seemed like the perfect idea.
I have loved my time at the club and have had a great relationship with the fans."
Comments
midlands-sports/aston-villa-fc/2008/05/12/mellberg-s-parting-gift-to-loyal-villa-supporters-65233-20896454
gotta be more than 50k - after tax thats like 2 weeks wages- he didnt need to do it but he did - legend !
thanks for the 7 years olof !
here is a shirt on ebay
£51