Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez are polar opposites in terms of the profile of wingers Pep Guardiola has favoured during his time at Manchester City.
Usually, the Catalan tactician has preferred to deploy wide forwards like Mahrez in his side at the Etihad Stadium — direct, proficient at beating players and productive.
Manchester City initially signed Grealish as a midfielder despite him playing on the left-wing for Aston Villa but when deployed out wide in Guardiola’s system, the Englishman has largely struggled.
On the other hand, Mahrez was a revelation for Manchester City, much like other wingers to have played for the Sky Blues such as Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane.
Riyad Mahrez says Pep Guardiola gives wingers freedom
In an interview with CARRÉ, Riyad Mahrez has now revealed that Pep Guardiola gives wingers the freedom to play their natural game, saying: “He let you have this freedom. There were so many good players around you, we had such great chemistry. It was incredible!”
However, several former players such as Frank Lebouef claimed Guardiola “ruined” Grealish and did not give him the creative license to express himself.
Even Thierry Henry claimed Grealish changed for the worse at City.
However, Mahrez’s revelation goes to show that Jack Grealish would have also been handed the freedom to take defenders on and wreak havoc in the final third by Pep Guardiola.
But for much of his spell at the Etihad Stadium, the Englishman has shown that unlike even wingers like Savinho and Jeremy Doku, who are far from the finished article, he is unable to come out on top in one-v-one situations and create or score goals on a consistent basis.
Even Savinho revealed Guardiola encourages him to dribble, which goes to show that even implying that the 29-year-old has been stifled in a City shirt could not be further from the truth.
Ultimately, as much quality as Grealish possesses, he perhaps struggled to become a star at Manchester City because unlike at Aston Villa, he was surrounded by world-class players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Mahrez and Bernardo Silva to name a few.
Jack Grealish stats compared to Riyad Mahrez at Man City
However, this summer, the three-time Premier League winner has the chance to redeem himself elsewhere.
Manchester City News revealed West Ham and Everton are eyeing Grealish but the only reason why the silky attacker is unable to land his next move is due to banking hefty wages of £300,000-a-week.
When comparing his stats at City to those that Mahrez mustered, while the Algerian amassed 78 goals and 59 assists in 236 matches, the former registered 35 goals and 42 assists in 217 appearances.
Considering Grealish won three titles with the Manchester City side that won an unprecedented four in a row, the personnel or the tactics cannot be blamed entirely for his downward spiral as a player.
