CITY’S £100m MAN
CHAMPIONS SMASH RECORD TO SNAP UP JACK... NOW MESSI IS ON MARKET TOO
Jack Grealish became the most expensive British footballer ever by completing his historic £100million move to Manchester city last night.
The 25-year-old signed a six-year deal worth £230,000 a week after the release clause in his contract was triggered.
Grealish’s switch from his boyhood club aston Villa came on the same night Barcelona revealed lionel Messi will not sign a new contract at the Nou camp and is a free agent. city were hopeful of landing Messi last summer but are unlikely to switch their focus away from Tottenham’s
Harry Kane this month. Grealish, who takes the vacant No 10 shirt left by Sergio Aguero, was eager to join City after talks with Pep Guardiola and is a statement signing by the champions.
‘I am over the moon. To come and play for a club like Manchester City is obviously massive for me personally,’ Grealish said.
‘It was a difficult few months because I have been an Aston Villa fan for my whole life, but when I spoke to the manager here and the type of players they have got here, in the end it was something I couldn’t say no to.
‘Trophies are the main reason why I joined. The manager has been a massive factor; playing under the best manager in the world was something I couldn’t really turn down. But competing for major trophies is something that I wanted to do.
‘Challenging for titles, for the Champions League — that is why I have come here.’
The fee is the highest ever paid by a British club. The record has changed 17 times since the Premier League’s inception, with City now setting it for the second time after the £32.5m capture of Robinho in 2008. City, who broke their club record last season when signing Ruben Dias from Benfica for £62m, have recouped around £50m in player sales this season.
They hope to double that before the end of the month, before factoring in the potential departure of Bernardo Silva.
Grealish’s arrival came minutes after Barcelona dropped the bombshell that Messi’s time at the club was officially over because of La Liga financial rules. Paris Saint-Germain appear the 34-year-old Argentine’s most likely destination if they can dissuade him from moving to MLS.
A Barca statement read: ‘Despite an agreement between FC Barcelona and Leo Messi having been reached, and with the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract, it will not be possible to formalise due to the economic and structural obstacles (of the regulations of the Spanish League). Both sides deeply regret that in the end the wishes of both the player and the club cannot be fulfilled.’
If City pursue Kane, it would leave PSG a clear path if they can overcome the financial implications of having Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Messi all on the same payroll.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is due to give a press conference this morning to explain the club’s statement.