Jack Grealish hits out at a journalist after his ‘classless’ interview, something that was reported by Birmingham Mail on Friday.
Aston Villa writer Ashley Preece ‘fired straight from the hip’ with the now-Manchester City player said to have caused anger amongst supporters following his England interview.
Grealish was described to have been ‘smug and arrogant’ which came off ‘quite distasteful’ as he sat in a sports hall at St George’s Park as he spoke to ITV’s Gabriel Clarke prior to England’s 4-0 win in Hungary.
Jack Grealish hits out at journalist after his ‘classless’ interview
Preece wrote in the article: “The former Aston Villa captain was no longer this innocent yet totally engaging footballer Villa fans idolised. In fact, the 25-year-old was quite frankly unrecognisable as he delivered some painful and, to some extent, insulting words about his boyhood club.
“Clarke asked him if he ever thought that the £100million clause would be met and, as if staying at Villa would have been a total inconvenience for him, delivered the most telling of comments.”
“Maybe, yeah,” Grealish outlined with brutal honesty. “That’s why we had it put in…”
Preece adds: “Then there was a gasp, as if Grealish had to backtrack knowing that ice-cold statement lacked total respect to Aston Villa Football Club. It irked and angered Villa fans, I know it did. It’s fact, I get that, but you don’t spill it and deliver it the way he did knowing millions will be hanging onto his every word.
“Grealish may as well have tweeted out, ‘My city. My club. My release clause’ just 12 months ago when he signed his five-year deal to become Villa’s highest-paid player in the club’s history. He also believed in Villa’s project, or so he said, before moving 11 months later.
“‘I couldn’t wait to get out,’ was the vibe I got from Grealish’s interview this week, while he also spoke of the “massive reason” behind his City transfer with regards to his England prospects,” Preece goes on.
Jack Grealish said in the interview: “I feel to be playing for England in the biggest of games I need to be playing at club level in the biggest of games, that’ll be the Champions League, all these types of games.”
Preece writes: “Now, again, those comments just don’t stack up knowing that, this week, Kalvin Phillips was named England’s player of the year for his standout Euro 2020 campaign with the Leeds United man now amongst the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team sheet. It’s the same with Everton and England No.1 Jordan Pickford and West Ham’s Declan Rice who, this season, will taste Europa League football for the first time. All three started in Hungary last night and all three are top picks despite never playing Champions League football. Come off it, Jack.
“Was jealousy a huge factor behind Grealish’s move with the likes of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount all drawing rave reviews for their star showings in Europe?”
Grealish said in his ITV interview: “You see the likes of Phil last year playing in all these Champions League games in the quarters, semis and final and, you know, you could see that it did help his England career as well.”
Jack Grealish on starting for England: “If I’m playing all the #PL games [for #ManCity] and I’m flying in the league and in the #UCL, I think it gives the manager here [at England] a difficult decision and that’s what I’m trying to do.” [via @itvfootball]https://t.co/q6ZpDPaxjJ
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) September 2, 2021
PREECE CONTINUED:
Southgate hasn’t helped in that regard, though, as he failed to pick Grealish time and time again despite the ex-Villa man outperforming Raheem Sterling, Foden, Mount and others on a weekly basis at ‘little old Villa’. Grealish always made a difference whenever called upon with England while he became transfixed with getting his goal and assist numbers up, a motivation and obsession ingrained into him from Dean Smith’s very first day as Villa boss in October 2018.
The Villa gaffer immediately knocked Grealish down a peg when he arrived. He pointed to his whiteboard at Bodymoor and told his star man, ‘So you were going to sign for Spurs in the summer? For £25million?’
The boss then hit Grealish who, by the sounds of it, was gutted his Tottenham move didn’t pan out, with the coldest of reality checks knowing he had no goals and just one assist from Villa’s first 12 games in the Championship.
That moment of brilliant man-management sparked Grealish’s career into life yet, as his ITV interview continued this week, it was all about The Grealish Show as he spoke of Pep Guardiola wanting the same in terms of numbers while speaking of his first goal in a City shirt.
Clarke was then in with another brilliant question asking Grealish if he’s better after less than a month at the Etihad. “Yeah, 100 per cent,” he said. “You just pick up stuff from certain players. Everyone’s an international at a top, top country. It makes you up your standards.”
Now that’s not much of an endorsement for his former teammates at Villa, is it?
There was just zero affection for Villa, a club he banged on about loving, in Grealish’s first England interview since leaving. It just stank of ‘Villa aren’t good enough for me, I’m better than that’.
I remember Smith’s parting comments outlining how he told Grealish, ‘Don’t be a stranger now’ but it’s as if he is. The boyhood Villan has long gone. It’s JG10 the brand, the PR machine.
Smith also said Grealish should be thankful to Villa, of no doubt he is, from his ex-teammates, coaches and right down to the canteen staff who cooked him beans on toast of a morning when he was a kid coming through.
The interview was a shocker. The body language, the quotes. It lacked class and class is something you’d always associate with Grealish.
JACK GREALISH’S RESPONSE TO THE ARTICLE
“This is the worst and most one sided article I’ve ever seen.. Classless? Jealous? Couldn’t wait to get out? Arrogance? How exactly? I’ve been a villa fan my whole life and still am. The thing is you don’t understand what goes on in the real football world.”
This is the worst and most one sided article I’ve ever seen.. Classless? Jealous? Couldn’t wait to get out? Arrogance? How exactly? I’ve been a villa fan my whole life and still am. The thing is you don’t understand what goes on in the real football world.
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) September 3, 2021
Fans reacted as Jack Grealish hits out at the journalist after his ‘classless’ interview…
@S1ngh32: The amount of best days of your life moments you’ve had in your career, think you’d run out of days. Scores against Blues best day of my life, gets No7 shirt for England best day of my life, gets No10 for City best day of my life 😂😂
@simonlines: Not wrong though is he Joe? The interview was classless mate, whichever way you dress it up.
@ReeceTay_29: It would be one sided lad he’s a villa fan it’s how we feel
@1874Jacob: JG10 the brand, the PR machine…
@lsaacMCFC: JACK FROM DEEP SIUUUUUU
@MiIton47: Tell em jack
@StevenMcinerney: Ashley was literally on my youtube channel a month ago saying you are a really down to earth, humble & good lad who he really liked… the tone of this article, you’d think you had come out & said ‘fuck villa’, not just that wanted CL football and set a high release clause.
@jjnavfc: Could’ve handled your move better. Every time you’ve mentioned Villa in a positive way there’s always been a “but” at the end of it. A few better worded interviews and it wouldn’t have left such a sour taste
@AVFC821: From what I read it’s pretty spot on from a Villa fans perspective. You wanted to leave for 3 of the last 4 summer windows. My Club, my city, my home. Blah blah. Have seen Villa fans with more respect for Deeney than Joe this week, that’s how you leave a football club! #AVFC
@charlieav: you left at the first real chance you could, would have gone to Spurs but they didn’t wanna pay the money, would have gone to united last summer but they didn’t wanna pay the money and as soon as city would you jumped ship. Never claim to be a villa fan again
@ToshFarrow: What a mess this has become..
@ContactCounts: I’m gutted Jack left but agree 100% with what he says here a very poor article. I listened to the interview and at no point was he negative towards villa. I went to my first game in 1985 Jack is a villa fan loves the club that’s obvious. It’s his career he owes us nothing
@ComboedOfficial: Mate its supposed to be one sided? Its how us villa fans feel. You legit wanted to get out, off course we are sad about it. Its a great article
@viewsdey: Ignore him Jack. Some people think they have the right to decide for others especially footballers. He gave his all for Villa. Can’t he move on?
@coopsrun: About time Villa fans realise that Jack isn’t a fan like they are. Yes he supported us as a kid but at the end of the day he is first and foremost a professional footballer and wants the best for his own career, not Aston Villa. Get over it
@AccidentalVilla: I couldn’t agree less with this. He’s a city player and can’t be banging on about the good old times at Villa. He also can’t be saying he wished the £100m wasn’t met or that he hadn’t improved since going. Over-sensitive article based the loud Twitter fans
@StanStaunton: I haven’t really talked about the Grealish stuff because it’s in the past but must admit I’m a bit surprised by his lack of emotion through the whole process. Feels like he’s just left a club like any other player tbh even though he’s a local villa supporting boy. Bit strange
@TheWillRoss: Of course you wanted out you insisted on a release clause then gave it all the ‘my city, I buy into the owners project’ crap, you’d have left last year if united stumped up the cash & you threw your toys out the pram you didn’t get to go to Tottenham
@jhavfc: The jealousy part was unnecessary and wrong, but the rest is true, Jack. Not once have you publicly offered any affection or thanks to Villa. It’s more like Villa should be grateful to you. You are not bigger than Aston Villa and you never will be. Maybe stop talking.
@morganmcfc_: player wants to leave mid table side for the premier league champions 🙀 how evil!
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) September 3, 2021
Taking ur tears @JamesPearceLFC pic.twitter.com/GbAx7s2EOq
— ¹⁷ (@BelgianKing17) September 3, 2021
As Jack Grealish hits out at the journalist after his ‘classless’ interview, what do you make of all this? Who are you backing? Tell us on our socials!
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