Gabby Agbonlahor steps down as captain and apologises to fans

Gabby Agbonlahor has stepped down as Villa's Club Captain with immediate effect following his 2nd suspension of the year.

Agbonlahor has also taken steps to repair his fractured relationship with Villa fans by apologising through his Instagram account.

I want to begin with an apology to all Aston Villa fans for my actions in recent weeks, especially at a time when it is devastating for everyone involved with the club. I am stepping down as club captain with immediate effect as I do not deserve to carry out such a role anymore. This role was a huge honour to me and it hurts to have lost it. I have spent 16 years at Aston Villa and played some memorable games. My celebrations and passion, especially in games against local rivals shows my loyalty to Aston Villa. I am asking Aston Villa fans for forgiveness as I'm hurting as well despite reports and photos in the press making out otherwise. I agree my performances this season have not been good enough but I will be working hard to make things right! Up The Villa, Villa Till I Die! I would also like to add; numerous fake social media accounts and have been created using my name. This is my official Instagram and I do not use Twitter or Facebook.

A photo posted by Gabriel Agbonlahor (@ga11official) on Apr 28, 2016 at 7:20am PDT

I hope we can all draw a line over this saga now, because one thing is for certain - we need every single person who wants to sort the mess at Villa out to stay and pull in the sam damn direction.

*Aston Villa have added that Agbonlahor's suspension has been lifted after a substantial fine. The decision to step down was Gabby's alone.