Madrid's saviour Grealish is the transfer flop of the season
Carlo Garganese
- 4 May 2022 22:38 BST
- 4 min read
Jack Grealish hit the news last month when it was reported by The Athletic that the Manchester City attacking midfielder was to sign a seven-figure contract with fashion giants Gucci.
Grealish will become an official ambassador for the Italian fashion house which specialises in luxury items such as handbags, footwear, fragrances and accessories.
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This sponsorship deal will thus see Grealish’s global and commercial image explode.
However, on the pitch, Grealish has done nothing to warrant such a lucrative endorsement contract.
On Wednesday evening, in fact, he was the man most responsible for Man City failing to make the Champions League final.
He came off the bench with 12 minutes to go with City 1-0 up against Real Madrid on the night and 5-3 on aggregate.
Soon after he squandered two sitters to kill off the tie.
Then, in dramatic fashion, Madrid substitute Rodrygo scored twice in injury time to take the game to extra time. A Karim Benzema penalty put Madrid into the final.
To put it simply, pound for pound, Grealish has been the biggest transfer flop of the season.
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Grealish has not delivered a single goal or assist for Manchester City in the Premier League in 2022. In all competitions, he has one goal and the one assist this calendar year, both in the FA Cup against Peterborough and a meaningless consolation versus Liverpool.
EUROPEAN ASSISTS KING: 2021-22
The 26-year-old has just two league goals and two assists all season from 23 games. In the last eight months he has one goal and one assist, against lowly Leeds and Brighton respectively.
In all competitions, Grealish has five goals and three assists in 2021-22 from 35 games, 29 of them starts.
Considering the fact that Man City smashed the British transfer record this summer to sign Grealish for £100 million (€118m), it is clear that these numbers are not worthy of this amount.
Grealish’s performances have also not been worthy of such an astronomical outlay. Tactically, he has struggled to adapt to Pep’s system and he has been accused of taking too many touches and slowing down the team’s play.
Guardiola himself has defended Grealish and stressed that we shouldn’t only look at the number of goals and assists he has provided.
However, it is impossible not to be hugely disappointed with Grealish’s output when you consider what a top team he plays for.
Man City have scored a whopping 134 goals in all competitions this season, Grealish has contributed to just eight of these in terms of goals and assists.
The 26-year-old is something of a throwback to the maverick English attacking midfielders of the 1970s. He loves to entertain and produces moments of magic with his flicks, tricks and creativity. But does he fit into a well-oiled system that relies on everyone strictly following Pep’s orders?
And, on the other side of the coin, is he able to perform at his best when he is restricted by Pep and not allowed to roam free and be himself - as he did so brilliantly at Aston Villa?
Kyle Walker loudly calling Jack Grealish ‘Mr Gucci’ as they walk out for #mcfc training 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Q2HWLRLdFv
— Simon Bajkowski (@spbajko) April 4, 2022
There have been many reports of Grealish not appreciating the rigidity of life under Pep – both on and off the pitch.
Back in December, Grealish was dropped by Pep after a night out on the town celebrating the 7-0 win over Leeds with teammate Phil Foden. Funnily enough, this was his last Premier League goal.
Of course, he could yet still come good. The natural talent is there.
But on Wednesday evening he confirmed that he has been the biggest transfer flop of the season.
