Pep Guardiola wrote a line on the wall of his office at Manchester City’s training camp when he moved in. It was a reminder to himself, but also to anyone who happened to visit.
‘First you know what to do. Then you know how to do it.’ There is no truer proverb to sum up Jack Grealish’s 2023-24. He knew what was needed, but didn’t seem to know how to make it happen.
So he went to the manager in the week of the FA Cup final in May to dissect a season that those close to him admit was one to scrap entirely. As City made history by winning a fourth successive league title, Guardiola had different ways of dealing with Grealish, and different feelings towards him.
There were moments when the manager’s frustration boiled over, but there was also understanding and sympathy for Grealish’s efforts.
The City winger’s problems are not an exhaustive list, but they all played a part in a poor season. Grealish’s Treble hangover was not to change, although he was not alone in that. He suffered three major injuries. And there was a robbery at his new home in Cheshire that left the whole family shocked. In between, there was football to be played. Of which he did not do much.
Manchester City managers Pep Guardiola (right) and Jack Grealish (left) have both spoken out about the winger’s struggles last season
Grealish lost his starting place at City last season as he struggled with injuries and a slump in form
Grealish has won the Premier League title with City in each of his three seasons at the Etihad
When Guardiola and Grealish held talks before City lost the Wembley final to Manchester United – a day on which the manager, in the closing stages, kept his £100million player on the bench – he wanted to use the problems as a platform to move forward.
The crux of the matter was this: Guardiola needs to be able to count on him for the coming season. City can’t carry passengers in a year that will be busier than ever, with extra European games and the expanded Club World Cup. The nine months he just produced can’t happen again. Grealish knew it, but it doesn’t hurt to say it openly.
Guardiola was talking about players who suffered muscle injuries early in the game and were therefore not fit enough anyway. The general opinion was that the comments were aimed at Grealish, who had been dropped from the team because of his training performance.
After that conversation Grealish knew what he had to do. Now he knows how to do it. Hard work is the only way.
He messaged personal trainer Jamie Reynolds and the pair headed to Quinta do Lago in the Algarve, home to the state-of-the-art Campus sports complex where teams often go for a break in the warm weather. The trip came shortly after Gareth Southgate broke the news that Grealish had failed to make the cut for the European Championships.
In time, that could prove a blessing for the 29-year-old, who was given an unexpected chance to refocus. To say it didn’t feel that way at the time would be an understatement, with Grealish believing he had done enough to earn a place in the squad after a brilliant half-hour cameo in a friendly win over Bosnia at St James’ Park.
‘Devastation,’ Grealish’s friend and former Aston Villa team-mate Joleon Lescott told Mail Sport. ‘I was in a similar situation at the 2010 World Cup. It was gutting. Missing out on that chance to play for your country is the worst feeling, so I’m sure it hurt. He wants to change that.
The 29-year-old (right) was devastated to miss out on a place in the England squad for Euro 2024
“There are no bad motivations, especially for top players like Jack. He will be more balanced mentally and more focused. You definitely try to use it, 100 percent. Physically he looks in great shape.”
While City captain Kyle Walker said Grealish’s season had been sub-par and that everyone at England was there on merit, some players questioned why Grealish had not travelled to Germany.
At one point it seemed to have a negative effect on morale in the camp. On the day England struggled to a draw with Slovenia, with the team really out of balance down the left, Grealish was at the City Football Academy doing some extra off-season work. It shows a man who wants to seize this opportunity for him.
In previous summers we have seen pictures of Grealish lying drunk on the pavements of Tenerife and stumbling out of nightclubs on holiday, but this year things seem to be a bit quieter.
Friends say he is so relatable that his character is happily picked apart, and it is hard to argue with that. This summer he caught some sun and spent time with friend and fellow Villa Academy student Callum Robinson, who is now in Cardiff.
The Portuguese heat with Reynolds, with plenty of conditioning and repetitions, seems to have benefited him before City play their first practice match against Celtic early tomorrow morning in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
It’s easy to say in the first few days of a tour, but Grealish is attentive and willing to work. The smile is strikingly back as he trains with Erling Haaland and a handful of other first-team regulars.
When Guardiola and Grealish spoke in the closing days of the season, it was already clear that Savinho, a young winger loaned to Girona from sister club Troyes, had proven himself enough in La Liga to remain in Guardiola’s squad.
Grealish has been following a personal training plan in the Portuguese Algarve to be ready for the start of the new season
Grealish and his partner are expecting their first child after recently announcing their pregnancy
Grealish and his girlfriend, Sasha Attwood, have enjoyed some quality time together over the summer
The Brazilian, who made his international debut against England in March, cost £33m and has now been signed to provide more competition in Grealish’s area of the pitch. The only thing going for Grealish now is that Savinho, like Jeremy Doku, is on holiday after Brazil reached the last eight of the Copa America, so City’s No.10 has two weeks to show the steps he has made.
He needs to show that Portugal was worth it, that it was worth using the City Football Academy when there was no one there and that it was worth turning up four days before pre-season for more individual sessions. The shirt should be his when Chelsea come around on the opening weekend and it’s his to keep.
His first major appearance in a City shirt came after the 2022 World Cup.
He learned that in Guardiola’s system, he is primarily the out-ball. While he is still an attacking threat, he is the one carrying the ball to give others a breathing space, to maintain possession, maneuver defenses and win free kicks. He flew after that realization and became an integral part of how City function. And they function much better with Grealish in the team.
It would come from a difficult first season, with coaches adamant that something would happen to bring about a big improvement in the second season and he would take it by storm. They were right. Grealish will be hoping that those similarities, after a tournament and a difficult campaign, can continue.
A little time off should reset him. His girlfriend, Sasha Attwood, announced two weeks ago that she is expecting their first child.
“I spoke to Jack recently and he’s excited about what life has in store for him over the next few months,” Lescott added. “The break will have done him good.”
Grealish struggled with three different major injuries last season which largely prevented him from reaching his peak form
Grealish wants to forget last year’s 10 Premier League starts and fleeting moments of significance
In a desperate attempt to prove his worth, Grealish returned from injuries too quickly last season
He was off the hamster wheel for a while. The year after the Treble — for which he became synonymous with those elaborate parties, the iconic photo on the party bus in the rain and the mammoth 18-hour Ibiza trip — ended up being a relentless game of chasing his tail.
In a desperate attempt to prove his worth, he recovered from injuries too quickly, causing further damage to himself, which only exacerbated his existing inner turmoil and he became progressively worse.
He cried when he watched the final episode of City’s Netflix documentary in April, which relived the Champions League victory in Istanbul. It could be that he cried because of the emotion of those memories and because he could not bring himself to contribute fully afterwards.
That’s why he wants to forget last year, the 10 Premier League starts and fleeting moments of importance. As Guardiola said, looking forward is his only option now. The next two weeks in the United States should give us a good idea of the new, improved Jack Grealish.