£100m Jackpot
England’s Grealish becomes first British footballer to break the mega-transfer barrier
DUrInG this summer’s European Championships, the name Jack Grealish became synonymous with England’s dynamic young lions.
His popularity soared, with images of him taking off his shirt and clips of his haircare routine going viral.
social media accounts were set up dedicated to his muscular calves and one fan even turned up to the final with an England shirt emblazoned with ‘Mrs Grealish 69’.
But last night, the boy from solihull rose to even greater heights – as he became the most expensive British footballer in history after securing a £100million move from aston Villa to Manchester City.
The deal will see the 25-year-old midfielder leave his boyhood club for the Premier League champions, doubling his wages to around £230,000 a week in the process.
not only will he become the first £100million English player, but the fee also makes him the most expensive footballer ever bought by a British club – smashing the £89.3million paid by Manchester United for French ace Paul Pogba in 2016.
Born and bred in the West Midlands, Grealish was one of the stand-out performers for the national team at this summer’s European Championships.
after the competition the footballer and his girlfriend sasha attwood were pictured holidaying with other England players on the Greek island of Mykonos, before flying to Dubrovnik in Croatia for a romantic break.
The model and influencer, also 25, has been dating Grealish on and off since they attended Catholic secondary school together in solihull.
They have tried to keep their relationship under the radar and don’t post images of each other on their social media accounts.
They flew back to the UK by private jet on sunday ahead of the Villa captain’s landmark transfer. While his talent on the pitch often makes headlines, Grealish’s antics off it have also landed him on the front pages.
In 2015 pictures emerged of Grealish appearing to inhale laughing gas or ‘hippy crack’ from a balloon and later that summer he was snapped sprawled out, apparently drunk, in a Tenerife street. The following year he was accused of inhaling the gas again at a Birmingham hotel party. Last December the footballer was banned from driving for nine months and fined £82,499 after he admitted two counts of careless driving during the first lockdown in March last year.
Birmingham magistrates heard police had spotted him driving at more than 90mph on the M42 before he went on to crash his £80,000 range rover.
Having urged his followers on social media to ‘stay home’ and ‘stay safe’, Grealish was also forced to make a public apology for breaking rules to visit the house of an old teammate. He was fined £150,000 by his club. according to Miss attwood, her boyfriend’s increased popularity during the Euros came at a price. Earlier this week she revealed she was sent 200 death threats a day during the tournament.
Grealish’s £100million transfer record is not likely to stand for long. It could be broken before the month is out if, as expected, England and Tottenham Hotspur captain Harry Kane also moves to Man City.