Manchester City have signed England star, Jack Grealish, from Aston Villa for a British record fee of £100 million on a six-year deal.
Grealish will wear the No 10 shirt for the reigning Premier League champions. after becoming the most expensive British player of all time.
The deal is bigger than the £89 million Manchester United gave Juventus in 2016 to take Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford, which was then a world record paid by a Premier League side.
Grealish expressed delight at the record signing. He said: “I am incredibly happy to have joined Manchester City,” Greealish told Manchester City’s club website. “City are the best team in the country with a manager considered to be the best in the world – it’s a dream come true to be part of this club
The star flew to Manchester on Wednesday night and took his medical on Thursday after City agreed to meet the £100m clause in his Villa contract that he signed last September.
All efforts to keep Grealish in Villa failed in the face of the brilliant offer which places him at the pinnacle of football’s historical elite players.
Grealish, who joined his first youth club at the age of six years old, reflected on his nearly 2 decades time at Villa, saying he has always been a fan, but had to accept this new and rewarding challenge.
Following the announcement, Grealish posted on social media: “I’ve been at Aston Villa for 19 years and I’ve been a fan my whole life. I’ve come up through the ranks and captained my club back to the top tier of English football. It’s impossible to put my feelings into words, but I’ll try.
“When I first came to Villa I had my own personal dreams and ambitions like getting into the first team, scoring my first goal and scoring the winner in a derby. It wasn’t until we got relegated that I felt a greater sense of purpose.”
He added: “I’ll always be a Villa fan — I love this club with all my heart and I hope you understand my reasons for seeking a new challenge. The club are in great hands, the manager, the lads, the new signings coming in — it is an exciting time to be a Villa fan.”
Grealish In Euro 2020 Image: Skysports.com
Grealish was one of the star attractions in last month’s European tournament, , and attracted uproar when he wasn’t selected to take a penalty in the Euro 2020final’s penalty shoot out, which saw England lose its best opportunity to win a tournament.
Grealish said he had wanted to take one of the penalties, but was denied the chance after Gary Southgate selected five players whom he said were the best penalty takers during training session. The three consecutive missed penalties led many disgruntled fans to conclude that Southgate made a serious error of judgement in missing Grealish out of the penalty squad.
Football fans were livid at his omission, which on te face of it meant Grealish was not good enough to join the country’s best chosen five to compte in penalties when it matters most.
As the most expensive player in British football, there will be no escuse for him to ever be left out from joining the team pressure on any crucial ocaasion.