Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national team.
[7][8][9] Influenced by his Irish heritage, Grealish played Gaelic football for John Mitchel's Hurling and Camogie Club of Warwickshire GAA between the ages of 10 and 14.
[8] Following his loan with Notts County, Grealish returned to Aston Villa and made his club debut on 7 May, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Ryan Bertrand in a 4–0 away defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.
[22] Grealish made his first start in a Football League Cup third round tie on 27 August against Leyton Orient at Villa Park, which his team lost 1-0.
[24] On 7 March 2015, in the sixth round of the FA Cup, a 2–0 home win over West Bromwich Albion, he replaced Charles N'Zogbia after 74 minutes, and was sent off for a second booking for diving in added time.
[25] On 7 April, Grealish started his first match for Aston Villa in the Premier League, a 3–3 home draw against Queens Park Rangers in which his performance was highly praised.
[26] On 18 April, in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, Grealish played a part in both of Villa's goals including assisting Fabian Delph's winner, as they came from behind to advance to the final.
[28] In April 2015, Grealish was warned by Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood after The Sun published images showing him allegedly inhaling nitrous oxide for recreational purposes.
New manager Rémi Garde punished him for this decision by making Grealish train with the under-21 team, and stated that "You have to behave as a professional and it was not the case this time for Jack".
Grealish played 16 matches, all defeats, breaking a record for worst season previously held by Sunderland's Sean Thornton, who lost in all 11 of his appearances in 2002–03.
[35] In September, Villa opened an internal disciplinary investigation after reports that Grealish was at a party at a Birmingham hotel which had to be shut down by the police in the early morning.
[36] In October, he was suspended for three matches after accepting a charge of violent conduct following a stamp on Conor Coady in Villa's 1–1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
[42][43] This form granted Villa a place in the play-offs where victories over West Bromwich Albion over two semi-final legs and Derby County in the final gained them promotion to the Premier League after an absence of three years.
[49] He scored on the final day, as Aston Villa clinched survival in the Premier League with a 1–1 draw against West Ham United, as their relegation rivals Watford lost 3–2 to Arsenal.
[54] It was Liverpool's heaviest defeat in 57 years and was the first time in Premier League history that a reigning champion had conceded seven goals in a single match.
[62] Grealish would score on his UEFA Champions League debut on 15 September, putting City 4–2 up in an eventual 6–3 group stage victory against RB Leipzig.
[71] Grealish assisted Riyad Mahrez for City's goal against RB Leipzig in the 2022–23 Champions League round of 16 first leg on 22 February 2023, and was later lauded as "unplayable" by both Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves.
[72] Grealish was highly commended for his performance against Liverpool on 1 April, in which Manchester City won 4–1 after going a goal behind;[73][74] in the match, he scored and also provided an assist for Julián Álvarez.
[76] In the return leg, Grealish was a standout performer as City beat Madrid 4–0 at home, being described by Jamie Jackson of The Guardian as "scintillating".
[81] One week later, he played the entirety of his side's Champions League final against Inter Milan as Manchester City sealed their first and only continental treble after winning with a score-line of 1–0.
[95] On 16 August 2023, Grealish started in Manchester City's 2023 UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla, converting his penalty in the shoot-out after the match had finished 1–1 following regulation time.
On 25 October, Grealish was selected in the starting line-up for Manchester City's game against Young Boys, with Pep Guardiola stating that he did not "have a piece of doubt about Jack".
[101] On 11 January 2025, Grealish scored his first club goal in over a year, a penalty in an 8–0 home victory against Salford City in the FA Cup third round.
[8] In October 2014, Grealish pulled out of a Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for a game against Norway to play in a behind closed doors friendly for his club Aston Villa and England under-21 manager Gareth Southgate confirmed that the Football Association were monitoring the player's situation.
[111] In May 2015, O'Neill confirmed that Grealish had turned down another call-up to the Irish senior squad, this time for a friendly against England and a European Championship qualifier against Scotland.
[124] On 9 October 2021, Grealish scored his first international goal after being introduced as a substitute in the 73rd minute during England's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Andorra.
[129][130] A technically gifted player, Grealish plays as a winger (normally on the left flank, a position which allows him to cut inside onto his stronger right foot) or attacking midfielder, and has been noted for his ability to run and dribble past defenders.
[131][132][133] Bryan Jones, Aston Villa's former academy director, likened his playing style to that of Nottingham Forest winger John Robertson, citing his "ability to just ghost past people".
[136][137] Despite not being gifted with exceptional speed, he is an agile player who possesses quick foot-work, a good change of pace, and excellent balance on the ball, as a result of his low centre of gravity.
[154] On 12 February 2021, in an interview with Talksport, former Aston Villa teammate Emiliano Martínez described Grealish as "the most talented player [he had] ever seen" and expressed surprise that he had not played more games for England.