There’s no denying that, among the list of most scrutinised players in the Premier League, Manchester City’s Jack Grealish is up there.
The fee the Etihad side paid Aston Villa for his services will have a lot to do with that, as it placed huge expectations on his shoulders, which many feel he hasn’t met as of yet.
He doesn’t seem to care that much, but that hasn’t stopped the often very outspoken Graham Souness to criticise him a number of times, to the point where the Manchester City star felt the need to say something back.
It was a rather public back and forth, which caught the attention of the media around the world, which is why L’Equipe felt the need to ask him about it when sitting down with Grealish for an interview.
Asking him if this kind of stuff was a ‘typical week’ for him, he replied: “Yes, that was a normal week for me (smiles). I often have the impression of doing the same things as other players, but people talk about it because I’m the one doing them. In fact, that’s exactly what I did when talking about Souness: he always has something to say about me.
“He then replied by stating that I can’t take criticism. Today, us footballers, if we dare reply to whatever is said against us, we are presented as people who can’t take criticism… (sighs).”
The Manchester City star then continued, expelling that he sometimes wants to ask the English media to leave him alone a bit and ‘focus on someone else’ so that he can focus on his own game.
He continued: “It’s probably because of my style of play and the fact that I’m playing in one of the biggest clubs in the world. I imagine the fee City paid Aston Villa also contributes to that attention.”
Prior to his move to Manchester City, the forward had scored 32 goals and assisted another 43 in 213 games for Aston Villa.
In comparison, his stats for the Etihad side currently stand at seven goals and four assists in 51 appearances under Pep Guardiola.
