‘Always has something to say’ – Jack Grealish hits out at pundit and unfair criticism

Manchester City forward Jack Grealish has hit back at criticism from Graeme Souness insisting he ‘always has something to say about me.’

There’s no denying that, among the list of most scrutinised players in the Premier League, the Manchester City star is up there.

The fee the Etihad side paid Aston Villa for his services will have a lot to do with that, as it placed huge expectations on his shoulders, which many feel he hasn’t met as of yet.

He doesn’t seem to care that much, but that hasn’t stopped the often very outspoken Graham Souness to criticise him a number of times, to the point where the Manchester City star felt the need to say something back.

The former Liverpool manager hasn’t been shy of making his feelings known towards the England international since his £100m move from Aston Villa to City in the summer of 2021.

Grealish is not a certainty in the City starting XI and hasn’t contributed with many goals and assists for the Premier League champions since leaving his boyhood club to move further north.

Sky Sports pundit Souness doesn’t think Grealish able to take criticism, but the England star doesn’t think that is the case as he spoke to French outlet L’Équipe Magazine : “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.

“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 stile 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.”

Prior to his move to Manchester City, the forward had scored 32 goals and assisted another 43 in 213 games for Aston Villa.

In comparison, his stats for the Etihad side currently stand at seven goals and four assists in 51 appearances under Pep Guardiola.