Jack Grealish has laughed off criticism from former Liverpool player Graeme Souness, telling reporters: "I don't know what his problem is with me!"
Grealish has opened up this week on the levels of criticism he receives from some sections of the media, agreeing with Manchester City teammate Kevin De Bruyne that some of his unfair attention could be because he is English.
Now, he has been asked to respond to recent comments made by Sky Sports pundit Souness, who said Grealish hasn't improved enough since joining City, should move the ball quicker, and is "not a great player". In response, he said he would much prefer to listen to two important people - Pep Guardiola, and his mum.
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“I don’t know what his problem is with me,” Grealish told a press conference. “He always says stuff about me! But I try not to read a lot of it.
“It is difficult when he’s on Sky Sports, and it’s everywhere around the training ground at times. Listen, he was obviously a great player and won a lot but I know he has a lot of stuff to… I don’t know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he’s got. I know my own ability.
“I know before that he used to say a lot of stuff about me not moving the ball quicker but when I’m playing for a manager like Pep Guardiola and he’s telling me to keep the ball as much as I can and have balls to take it everywhere, that’s what I’ll try and do.
“Obviously I am always going to have people if I’m not playing well [criticising]. Listen, I know within myself, I always watch my games back and stuff like this and I am very critical of myself. I know that there were games, especially in the second half of last season, where I wasn’t at my best at all.
“Unfortunately for me, I came back in pre-season, I came back fit where I’d had a strong pre-season and then got injured in the second game. But from now on, I’m just going to try and get my head down and try and get that fitness back because I know I’m not at 100 per cent yet. I think I’ve only played one 90 minutes this season. But, yeah, I think I’ll always have people on the back of me but I’ve just got to try and go and perform.”
Grealish added that he does find it hard to block out all criticism but tries to accept that some negative attention will come with his status as City's number 10, an England international, and Britain's most expensive player.
“It’s more if someone like my mum or my dad was saying it, I’d listen a lot more,” he continued. “But, yeah, sometimes when people are saying it – whether it be trolls on Twitter or Instagram or stuff like that – that doesn’t bother me at all.
“I think that’s just part and parcel of what we have playing for the national team and playing for big clubs in England. I don’t think I’m the only one, I think there’s quite a few. I think we just have to learn to deal with that. Obviously over time I’ve learned to deal with it.
“When I signed for Man City and the price and stuff that came with it, I knew it wasn’t going to all be laughs unless I started the way Erling Haaland did. I think that’s the only way I wouldn’t get caned! Obviously I’m not going to sit here and say ‘nothing ever affects me’ because it does sometimes. I’m a 27-year-old kid so I’ve had to learn to deal with that.”
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