Jack Grealish's ex-Manchester City teammate has revealed the real reason why he flopped at the Etihad amid the star player's incident at a rooftop bar.
Grealish enjoyed a 'boozy afternoon session with pals' last weekend. He had some downtime with mates in Manchester after his season came to an end following a stress fracture in his foot, with the 30-year-old subsequently having an operation.
Grealish was pictured asleep in a chair at a rooftop bar in images obtained by The Sun Given his profile, several critics have had their say, including Gabriel Agbonlahor, who revealed what Grealish told him before the incident.
Real Reason Why Jack Grealish Failed at Manchester City
Jack Grealish in action for Manchester City
Scott Carson, who was on the books at Man City for six seasons, appeared on The Good, The Bad & Football podcast and touched on Grealish's struggles under Pep Guardiola.
Carson, who played just one Premier League game for the Blues, agreed with Paul Scholes' suggestion that Grealish got frustrated under Guardiola's tutelage, claiming he is a player who needs to play consistently to gain confidence.
“Yeah [Grealish got frustrated]. Jack’s the sort of player that needs to play week-in week-out, get the confidence and feel loved. Obviously it didn’t work out for him as well as he probably thought because he was obviously getting played on the left."
Carson continued: “And instead of him drifting inside and stuff like that, his job was staying on that touchline and to keep the ball and obviously drag players over there to then get it to the other side.”
Nicky Butt and Scott Carson Compare Jack Grealish to Rayan Cherki
jack grealish
During the podcast, Nicky Butt name-dropped Rayan Cherki and claimed Guardiola has allowed him to be the flair player this season.
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Butt went on to suggest Grealish could have had similar freedom within the team had he been in the Man City squad this season.
"I think he's (Guardiola) allowed Cherki to be that little bit of flair player, a maverick... What the lads say about... and go and, you know, create goals, score goals and win that way," he explained. "And I think if Jack was in the Man City squad this year, I think he probably be allowed to do a little bit more as well."
Carson replied: "Grealish was that sort of player as well who just wants to have freedom to go wherever he wants on the field."
Following his summer move from Lyon, Cherki has starred at Man City and has made a name for himself as his side's flair player. He has four goals and 10 assists to his name in the Premier League this season.
His arrival prompted Grealish's departure, with the Englishman moving to Everton on a season-long loan. As mentioned, his 2025/26 campaign ended after a foot injury that he sustained in January. He scored two goals and registered six assists this season.