Grealish responded to the snub by setting up his own summer training camp using Juventus’ facilities, and refused the offer of additional time off. He clearly wanted to hit the ground running – but, while he did well on a pre-season tour in the United States, he was outshone by Norwegian youngster Bobb.
England’s interim manager Lee Carsley recalled Grealish – starting him against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in September, then against Finland again the following month, with the City man scoring twice across the three games.
But his return to the international fold also frustrated Guardiola, with the coach annoyed England had again selected Grealish in November, despite his struggles with fitness.
“I’m always pleased for players to go – when they are fit and they haven’t struggled for the past one, two, three or four weeks,” said Guardiola at the time. “In 17 days he didn’t train once… Jack has had two or three setbacks in terms of injuries and could not get his rhythm.” Grealish subsequently withdrew.
If his confidence has been dented by Guardiola’s pointed remarks, he would not be the first at City. Last year, Kalvin Phillips – another England international who struggled to convince his manager, despite costing the club £42m when signed from Leeds in 2022 – admitted he had been hurt by criticism over his weight.
Guardiola later apologised, but it is clear his intensity and exacting standards can come at a cost.
According to those who know him, Grealish is a popular figure within the dressing room, grateful for what his talent has given him, and a man who does not take himself too seriously. They claim he is also the player most likely to stop and talk to fans on site visits.
As his sister Hollie has cerebral palsy, there was something deeply personal about the friendship he struck up with young City fan Finlay Fisher – who also has the condition – that led to him doing a goal celebration in the 2022 World Cup in his honour. It fits with Grealish’s description of himself as “relatable” in a recent film posted on the City website. “There’s no filter,” he added.
Those who knew him at Villa speak about a confident yet humble young man who would take his time with fans and staff at the club, asking about their families and how they were.
The humanity he showed belied the popular, trendy and handsome image in the headlines. “His authenticity came through,” said one who worked with him.
Shaun Derry, who managed Grealish when he was a 17-year-old on loan at Notts Country in 2013-14, says he “misses seeing the old Jack”.
In League One he made 37 appearances and scored five goals, with Derry witnessing the development of a young talent first hand.
“I felt I saw two Jacks really,” he told BBC Sport. “One was this real young, immature kid who needed to quickly understand what we was looking to do at Notts County. Of course there was an immature Jack, he was 17.
“So it’s really easy to understand looking back now, what that looked like, but there was an unbelievable confidence and bravery and individuality on the pitch.
“When he’s looking back at his career he’s going to see an absolute top level one, championships, experiences, international football. People will look back and probably look more fondly at Jack as they do now.”
Grealish never pushed to leave Villa, his boyhood club, even after Tottenham circled following the club’s relegation in 2016.
He stayed to help them return to the Premier League in 2019 and is viewed as being instrumental in Villa’s recovery with an unshakeable belief in his talent described as “infectious”.
“He allowed others to feel things were possible,” said one former Villa employee.
