City manager says Grealish absence “not anything personal” but refuses to rule out an exit from the Etihad
Pep Guardiola has reacted to rumours of a rift with Jack Grealish, insisting he has “no problem” with the England international despite the winger’s diminishing role at Manchester City. But he stopped short of guaranteeing the player’s future at the club.
Grealish, who joined City from Aston Villa in 2021 for a British record fee of £100 million, has endured a stop-start 2024/25 campaign marred by fitness issues and fluctuating form. He registered just 715 minutes in the Premier League and was left out of the squad entirely for City’s final game of the season, the 2-0 win at Fulham.
However, Guardiola was in no mood for speculation during his final press conference of the season. “It was selection,” he said when asked about Grealish’s absence at Craven Cottage. “The last two months, I’ve had to leave five or six players at home every time. This time, I decided it was these guys. No more than that.
“Of course, Jack has to play. Jack is an unbelievable player who has to play football every single day, every three days. It didn’t happen this season and last season neither. They need to do it with us or in another place.”
That comment – “with us or in another place” – is interesting and will fuel further speculation about Grealish’s future. Guardiola, though, was visibly irritated by suggestions of a personal issue.
“No, don’t ask me about Jack, please! Who said I’m not happy with him?” he said. “It’s not personal. I don’t have any problem with the players. If you are saying I’m selecting them they’re not in trouble or I’m not selecting them they are in trouble, it’s not about that. I had to get rid of six players last game, today five because [Mateo] Kovacic was sent off last game, otherwise it’d be six again.
“I treat Jack like I treat Khusanov, like I treat Vitor and McAtee. It is not anything personal about Jack. What happens in the future is a job for Hugo [Viana, new sporting director], Txiki [Begiristain, outgoing sporting director] and agents, not me.”
