Jack Grealish appears to take swipe at Pep Guardiola as he’s set to be snubbed from Man City’s Club World Cup squad

JACK GREALISH has appeared to take a swipe at boss Pep Guardiola’s selection policy.

The Manchester City star, 29, has fallen out of favour at the Etihad.

Reuters

Jack Grealish has fallen out of favour under Pep Guardiola[/caption]

Grealish started just seven Premier League matches during the 2024-25 season.

Having made just one brief cameo in the final six games of the campaign, Grealish was left on the bench during the FA Cup final – with Guardiola instead turning to teenage debutant Claudio Echeverri as his side chased an equaliser.

Appearing on talkSPORT, Grealish’s former Aston Villa team-mate Gabriel Agbonlahor criticised Guardiola’s treatment of his pal.

Agbonlahor said: “I think towards the end of the season, it felt to me like it got a bit personal.

“Bringing on a young kid for his debut in an FA Cup final when you’re chasing a goal, when you’ve got someone who’s had the career Jack’s had just seemed a bit odd.

“That seemed a bit personal to me, like a last little dig to get you out, to upset you, to (make) you want to move. But we’ve seen this before from Pep.

“Pep can be ruthless at times. If he feels that you’re not part of his future plans, he will get rid of you.”

When talkSPORT posted the clip to Instagram, Grealish commented, appearing to point to how many sub appearances he’s made: “What u want me to do score a hatty in 20?”

The post received several other comments, including one that read: “Dude jack is been bad lately and I’m not surprised Pep did that.”

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Instagram @talksport

Grealish replied to a talkSPORT post[/caption]

Instagram @talksport

The Man City star also responded to a fan[/caption]

Grealish responded: “haha I’ve been bad lately?

“Scored 3 goals in my last 3 appearances over 45 mins but okie dokie love x”.

Grealish scored one goal and laid on one assist in 20 Prem appearances during the 2024-25 season.

His three goals in all competitions came against Leicester, Paris Saint-Germain and Salford.

Yesterday it emerged that Grealish will not head to the US with his team-mates for the Club World Cup, as he nears a City exit.

The England ace is said to be attracting interest from the Premier League and overseas – with Villa, Newcastle, Everton and Napoli among the interested suitors.

Boss Guardiola said in May: “Of course Jack has to play. He needs to do it — with us or another place.”

SunSport recently revealed that Grealish had accepted that he may need to leave City in order to reclaim his England place in time for the World Cup.

‘I LOVE JACK GREALISH’

Having missed out on last summer’s European Championships, Grealish has been left out of both of Thomas Tuchel‘s squads so far as Three Lions boss.

Asked about the 39-cap star in March, the German said: “I love Jack Grealish. I love everything about him; his personality, his quality.

“The guy has courage, can take the heat, not afraid of the Bernabeu whistles when he’s on the ball, it does not affect him, it affects him only in the best way.

“Is he a player who should be available and have an impact in our (England) squad? Yes, 100 per cent. But lately, he simply has no rhythm and he and I agree 100 per cent.

“He said, ‘Thomas, I’m not a start-stop player. It’s so hard for me to influence a match from the bench and be on the bench again, and two weeks later start again’.

“I’m not judging anyone, but it’s just a characteristic of Jack, he gets better with every minute. The more he plays the better he gets and then he becomes a proper machine.”