Jack Grealish welled up the night before Manchester City's game with Crystal Palace. Watching the footage of the
Champions League win in Istanbul and what it meant to everyone involved made the £100m star emotional because it reminded him not just of how incredibly happy it had made him, but of the struggle he had endured this year trying to hit another high. Last year Grealish achieved not just his pinnacle but the highest point any footballer can hit in the club game, and the crash back down has been bumpy. A stop-start campaign hasn't helped. He hasn't had any major injuries but a series of problems starting in August with the worst dead leg the City medical team had ever seen and continuing in 2024 with sickness followed by two groin injuries have hampered his rhythm. ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Crystal Palace as Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne star ALSO READ:
Pep Guardiola bold gambles help Man City add to
Real Madrid nerves Pep Guardiola has not held back criticism in public when he has been fit, suggesting at various points that Grealish lacked the level in training he showed last season when he was so integral to City's success. The City manager has also questioned his fitness, and was seen after the
Arsenal game last week giving the 28-year-old one of his post-match rants on the pitch. That was interpreted by many as a sign that Guardiola was seriously unhappy with Grealish - and some even suggested the player's future at the club was in doubt. That all looks a bit silly a week on, and when Grealish stopped to speak to reporters - a rare treat - after his starring role in the 4-2 win over Crystal Palace he spoke of not only his appreciation for the tough love but also how much Guardiola has helped him away from the cameras during a time when he feels has been judged by the wrong statistics. "Playing for this manager the only ever person who has been able to go and do what they want in a Pep team is [Lionel] Messi, which is fair enough," said Grealish. "You can't knock what the manager has done, he's an incredible manager, a great guy with a really good heart as well. "At times this season I have struggled a little bit with myself and he's been there for me all the time. I owe him a lot. He's a great person and the best manager to ever exist. "It's been a difficult season for me personally after the highs of last year. I spoke to the manager a lot and he's been so good with me. I owe him a little bit and want to repay him now with my performances and the team as well. "I speak to my
Friends in the [dressing room] everyday, I know how important I am to the team. I speak to the manager and at the back end of last season you've seen how much the manager played me. "I do seem to play in the big games. I saw [Karim] Benzema say it last season in an interview - everyone is so focused on goals and assists. I want to score, because in
Football there is no better feeling than scoring goals, but it is a team game and I am so happy to keep playing for this team." Grealish was always going to be scrutinised after becoming the first £100m player in the
Premier League following his 2021 move from Villa to City. He was hurt by the reaction from many Villa fans, who chose not to believe him when he said he was leaving to win trophies, and plenty turned their back on one of their most brilliant homegrown talents. He struggled in his first season at City too, not fully believing that he could hold his own in a squad packed with the best talent in the world. He was more cautious and less incisive than Guardiola and his staff wanted him to be as a result. While a Premier League medal at the end of it was satisfying, it brought far more joy to Grealish to play a major role when City made history the following season as only the second English side to win the Treble. Too much joy, it turned out, for after the raucous celebrations that were thoroughly deserved Grealish - and others in the squad it should be said - have found it difficult to recapture that feeling of being on top of the world. Watching the Madrid and Inter games have brought it all back for the former Villa man, who has realised that he can't afford to let moments pass him by. "For me personally to move to City and play Champions League football and to play against Real Madrid in your home stadium, have your family and friends there, everyone in the world watching, I think it is so, so special," he added. "These are the moments you live for. "I finished the
Netflix documentary last night and the last episode especially made me a bit emotional. It made me want to go and do it again and made me think, I know it’s a bit deep, but at the end of the day this is the youngest I’m ever going to be so to try and enjoy the moment because I’m not going to be playing Champions League for the rest of my life. Jack Grealish of
Manchester City (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) "It is difficult. You need that hunger. Sometimes you do sit there and think how can you ever top last year? Will any happiness ever come close to that? "Sometimes you have to think if you do it again, go one step ahead or win something else then maybe that would top it. In myself I feel like I'm coming back now, I feel fit and strong. I didn't score or assist against Palace but I played well, I was involved in most of the goals but everyone loves stats, assists and goals. "I feel I bring so much more to the team than just goals and assists. If you watch the game back you'll see I played well, it's just a shame that everyone in the world now just loves stats." Grealish may not feature in the goals and assists charts but it is undeniable that the team are better with him in it. More successful in fact, than with anyone else in it; despite Rodri's 65-game unbeaten run, City average more points per game when Grealish plays. That is why his fitness has been so carefully managed in recent weeks, with the forward staying in Manchester to build himself back up rather than join up with the
England squad for their March fixtures. City can point to prolonged absences of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland for why they haven't looked as formidable this season, but anyone who watched the first half at Copenhagen and Luton were reminded of how much better they look with Grealish fit. Guardiola will surely start him in Madrid on Tuesday night, and while nobody is taking the Spanish giants lightly watching the highlights from last season again has made Grealish proud of what he is part of at City. Not only have they enjoyed remarkable success over a long time, but it is within their grasp again. "I think everyone knows what Madrid are like. Whether they’ve got a top team or not a top team they’re always there. Always," he said. "They’re the record holders for winning the Champions League. It is a brilliant club. But this club as well is on the way up. "We’ve been there and thereabouts for the last 10 years now and I can’t speak highly enough of this club. Going back to the documentary last night it makes me happy to be part of it and the way it is run from the bottom to the top is just so special. That’s what we’re here for to try and win all these trophies."