Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar has thanked fans for their support during his farewell game against Norwich City.

Fans cheered his every touch at Norwich, his final game in claret and blue, and he paid tribute to the away support on the final whistle, applauding them as well as throwing them commemorative home shirts.

He told Villa's website: "I think the popularity is because fans see me around. Sometimes the people think there is a player, there is a footballer, he's untouchable, you cannot be close to him.

"He's like a biblical idol and you haven't got that access to them. But I think the people saw with me I'm a normal person like them, I'm walking on the street, I will take a picture with them, have a coffee with them.

"If they want to talk I will talk with them for 10, 20 minutes. Some people were really surprised.

"I think that was why the Villa fans loved me. And after, because of that, on the pitch, you can play better or worse, but they saw me every game 100 per cent.

"Sometimes in one game I would play better than in another game, but that is football, we are human and we make mistakes.

"But they saw that all I'd got I left on the pitch for them."