Jack Grealish explains reasons for joining Manchester City in £100m transfer

Jack Grealish has described the decision to leave Aston Villa to join Manchester City as ‘one of the toughest’ he’s ever made, but admitted the opportunity was something he just couldn’t turn down.

Grealish joined Man City last week for a reported fee of £100m, making the 25-year-old from Birmingham the first English player in history to fetch such a figure. 

But the price tag doesn’t faze the Englishman: ‘It fills me with confidence, I don’t think there is any pressure on the price tag. It just shows how much the club and manager trust me,’ he said during an unveiling on Monday. 

‘I actually like it, I think it’s a good tag to have. When you see a football club pay that kind of money for a player it means they trust you and value you. I just hope I can repay this club by winning as many titles as possible.’

Grealish made his City debut during Sunday’s Community Shield 1-0 loss to Leicester at Wembley after coming off the bench with just under half an hour to play. 

And despite only being at the club for several days he is already in awe of the quality on show on the pitch as well as from Pep Guardiola, who he described as the best manager in the world.

‘Even the few days that I’ve been here it’s just crazy to see the manager work the way he does and its no surprise he’s been as successful as he has been. He can take my game to the next level, I cannot wait to work with him. I’ve been here for two days and I can’t describe how good he is,’ he said.

He has already set his sights on winning trophies at the Etihad, including the Champions League title, which the club has never won. 

‘I’ve come here to win trophies and that’s what I want to do. In my career I’ve had a lot of runners up medals but now I want some winners medals. I feel like we can win it (the Champions League) this year, we have depth in every position, it’s crazy!’

Grealish will wear the number ten shirt at City, something which he is excited about: ‘I was buzzing to get the number ten shirt. I feel like I can wear the shirt and play well in it and it just shows how much the club value me by giving me that shirt.’

After the deal was confirmed, Grealish wrote a heartfelt message to the Aston Villa fans on his social media accounts. 

And today he spoke again to explain how difficult of a decision it was to leave Villa: ‘It was so tough. Everyone knows that. I reported back for pre-season as I was meant to. It was difficult because in the back of my head I knew I might be going. 

‘Everyone has seen the way Messi was at his final press conference and that is the exact way I felt. Before I left I spoke to the team and staff at the team hotel and I teared up myself. But I felt like it was time to move on.’

Grealish could make his Premier League debut against Tottenham on Sunday as City look to make it back-to-back top flight titles for the second time in their history. 

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