Pep: Grealish could leave Man City over minutes but denies £100m rift
Pep Guardiola bristled at claims of a falling-out with Jack Grealish, though conceded the midfielder might depart Manchester City.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Grealish saw limited action for Manchester City in the 2024-25 season, managing just 715 minutes across 20 Premier League appearances. His absence was particularly notable on the final day, missing the 2-0 victory at Fulham as he was excluded from the matchday squad entirely.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Rumors have swirled that Grealish’s diminished role at City stems from a rift with Guardiola, but the manager vehemently denied these allegations during his end-of-season press conference.
WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID
Guardiola was asked about Grealish’s omission on the final day, to which he replied: “It was selection. The last two months, I’ve had to leave five or six players at home every time. This time, I decided it was these guys. No more than that. Of course, Jack has to play. Jack is an unbelievable player who has to play football every single day, every three days. It didn’t happen this season and last season neither, they need to do it with us or in another place. But that is a question of Jack, his agent and the club. If he stays, we’ll be fine, he will fight like he fought since day one when he arrived. But today it’s for something else, for example I rotate and Rico [Lewis] and Macca [James McAtee] was not there and [Abdukodir] Khusanov and Vitor [Reis] and [Claudio] Echeverri was here. So it was there. I try to move the players like it was nothing. Today, it was Jack.”
The City boss was then confronted with another Grealish question, and he quickly snapped: “No, don’t ask me about Jack, please! Who said I’m not happy with him? Why don’t you ask me about McAtee for example? It’s not personal, I don’t have any problem with the players. If you are saying I’m selecting them they’re not in trouble or I’m not selecting them they are in trouble, it’s not about that. I had to get rid of six players last game, today five because [Mateo] Kovacic was sent off last game, otherwise it’d be six again. I treat Jack like I treat Khusanov, like I treat Vitor and McAtee. It is not anything personal about Jack. What happens in the future is a job for Hugo [Viana, new sporting director], Txiki [Begiristain, outgoing sporting director] and agents, not me.”
When finally asked if he wants Grealish to stay, Guardiola shouted: “Next one.”
WHAT NEXT FOR GREALISH?
Grealish joined City from Aston Villa for £100 million in 2021 and remains under contract until 2026. The playmaker could still represent Guardiola’s squad in the forthcoming Club World Cup.
