Jack Grealish has revealed what he said to Pep Guardiola straight after winning the Champions League with Manchester City.
The Citizens won their first European title by beating Inter Milan 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Rodri.
Following the game, Grealish, who completed the full 90 minutes in Istanbul, couldn’t hide his feelings and appreciation for the manager.
Grealish lauds Guardiola relationship
Speaking to BT Sport right after the game, Grealish said this when asked what he feels about Guardiola.
He said: “He’s a genius. I just said to him then, ‘I want to thank you because you’ve made this happen for me.’
“He put so much faith in me, buying me for a lot of money, even last year when I was playing [bad], he stayed there with me, spoke to me and then this year and he’s given me that platform to go and perform so I just said thank you to him.”
As the winger mentioned, the Manchester club spent a then-club record fee of £100m to bring the England international to the Etihad Stadium back in August 2021.
Since then, the 27-year-old has made 89 appearances for City across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and delivering 15 assists.
With the Englishman playing more minutes in the Premier League (1916 vs 2062) and Champions League (461 vs 937) this season compared to last, this highlights the faith that Guardiola has put in him.
Taking into account how Grealish has managed to deliver more goal contributions this time around compared to his debut season, this shows the improvement he has made and how the belief the City boss has put in him has paid off.
With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why the City winger has been full of praise and thanks for his manager.
Moving forward, if Grealish can continue his upward trajectory and help his side keep winning trophies, he’ll be seen as one of the most important signings the club have made in recent years.
