Jack Grealish’s emotional exit . Grealish said he had held an Aston Villa season ticket since the age of four and that leaving the club was “one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make”.
“I felt like it was time for me to move on,” he continued.
“I’ve always said how much I wanted to play Champions League football – I couldn’t do that at Villa this year.
“I have come here to win silverware and play in the Champions League, so that is my only focus now.”
“I want to have as many winner’s medals as possible,” he explained. “I want to be as successful as I know I can be.”
The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international believes manager Guardiola can take his game “to the next level”.
“I’m going to be learning from him every day and I genuinely cannot wait to work with him,” Grealish said.
“The way he is in training is unbelievable. The stuff he has certain players doing in certain positions – it is something I would never think of and it just works.
“Everyone here is so desperate to play under him. Pep was a massive factor in me coming here.”
Grealish said the £100m fee “doesn’t put any pressure on me whatsoever”, adding “I actually like it.”
“When you see a football club paying that sort of money for a player, it means they trust you and value you highly and see so much potential there,” he continued.
“I see it as a good thing and now I hope I can repay this football club by winning as many titles as possible and winning that [Champions League] trophy we all want.”
