Jack Grealish has posted a farewell message to Manchester City on Instagram after returning to Everton on a second successive season-long loan in the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
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The 30-year-old thanked the club and manager Enzo Maresca before offering an eye-catching endorsement of new City signing Iliman Ndiaye, a man Grealish knows well, having spent much of last season alongside him on Merseyside.
The message closes a summer in which Grealish briefly appeared to have a future at the Etihad Stadium under the new manager, featuring in the Community Shield against Arsenal and coming off the bench in the opening-day Premier League win over Bournemouth. His absence from the squad for the 4-1 win at Crystal Palace signalled the inevitable.
Grealish joined Manchester City in the summer of 2021 for a then-British record of £100 million from Aston Villa, going on to win three Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.
His most significant contribution came in the 2022-23 treble season, where he was a key figure in the run to the Champions League final. The years that followed brought diminishing involvement and his loan to Everton last season was designed to revive a career that had stalled under Pep Guardiola.
Everton have announced the signing of Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City for a second consecutive season.cityxtra.co.ukEverton Confirm Jack Grealish Loan Signing From Manchester City
Everton have announced the signing of Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City for a second consecutive season.
Grealish hails Maresca as 'legend' upon Manchester City exit
Maresca kept faith with Grealish across the opening weeks of the campaign despite a wide-held expectation for the forward to be moved on as part of a sweeping rebuild of Manchester City's first-team squad.
Posting on Instagram upon Manchester City confirming his loan move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Grealish wrote: "Thank you guys. Appreciate everyone at City so much and a big thank you to the manager Enzo [Maresca] for how he has been with me the past six weeks.
"What a legend and of course an unbelievable manager!! Good luck for the season, I will be supporting and what a player you have in [Iliman] Ndiaye!!"
The endorsement of Ndiaye adds another layer to the message after Grealish played alongside the Senegal international for much of last season during his loan at Everton, he saw at close quarters what Ndiaye offers on a weekly basis. His approval is grounded in first-hand experience, not observation from afar.
Manchester City completed the signing of Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for £65 million on deadline day.cityxtra.co.ukManchester City completed the signing of Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for £65 million on deadline day.
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There is a neat irony in the Ndiaye mention. When Grealish arrived at Everton last summer, it was partly to relaunch a career that had drifted out of Manchester City's first-team picture.
When he returns to Goodison Park this season, the player he helped carry Everton last year has since moved in the other direction, signed by Manchester City for £65 million in the final days of the transfer window.
Ndiaye scored 14 Premier League goals for Everton last season and established himself as one of the more explosive wide forwards in the division.
Grealish, by contrast, contributed eight goal involvements across 22 appearances before a foot stress fracture in January ended his campaign and ruled him out of Thomas Tuchel's England FIFA World Cup squad.
As the transfer deadline passes, here is a comprehensive round-up of every single deal completed by Hugo Viana and Manchester City across the summer of 2026.cityxtra.co.uk41 Man City Transfers Completed in the 2026 Summer Window - Full List
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With Grealish now free to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club from January, this second spell at Everton may well be his final opportunity to remind the Premier League - and Manchester City - of what he is capable of before his contract expires next summer.