Jack Grealish has called out a cry for help for English media to stop harassing him as he continues to face the pressure of joining Manchester City. He has called for pundits – Graeme Souness in particular – to leave him alone and let him get him on with his football.
Grealish Calls Out:
“I often feel like I just do exactly the same things as the other players, but people talk about them because it is me doing them…that’s exactly what I said in relation to Souness: he always has something to say about me,” the England winger told L’Equipe.
“And he responded by saying I can’t take criticism. Today, we, the footballers, if we allow ourselves to respond to something said about us, we are portrayed as if we are people who cannot stand criticism.”
“Sometimes I want to say to them (English media), leave me alone a bit and focus on someone else, so that I can focus on my game. Because there is always this noise around me, generated by articles or other things. It is undoubtedly linked to my style of play and the fact that I play in one of the biggest clubs in the world. I imagine also that the fee that Manchester City paid for me to Aston Villa contributes to this attention also.”
Much of the criticism angled at Grealish is based on his statistics for Manchester City. In 51 games for the Premier League champions in all competitions, he has scored seven goals and registered four assists. He now needs to back up his talks with some on-pitch performances.
