‘I fought for Jack’ – does Grealish have Man City future?

Pep Guardiola addressed his decision to leave Jack Grealish out of the squad for Sunday’s final game of the season by avoiding the unthinkable of missing out on the Champions League next season.

City’s fate came to an end on the last day of the Premier League campaign, but a 2-0 victory over Fulham on the River Thames kept them firmly at the top of the table for 15th consecutive years.

Attention will now turn to the summer, when Guardiola anticipates a significant change to the team’s size and subsequent failure to capture a trophy for the first time in eight years.

Guardiola rebuffed Guardiola, “Don’t ask me about Jack.” Who said Jack wasn’t happy with me? Why not inquire about McAtee if Rico [Lewis] was not chosen and James] McAtee was exceptional against Aston Villa and Wolves?

It’s not Jack’s fault that he’s so close. I am the one who fought for him to come here and to stay here both this and the following season. I am the one who declared, “I want Jack Galish.”

In his Friday news conference, he clarified that the joke was intended as a reminder that he needs to collaborate with a smaller group of players.

Since City has 32 players listed on their official website, there are likely to be numerous departures.

Will there be others, though, like Gulp?

When asked about his absence, Guardiola responded, “It was selection. Five or six players have been at home every two months, and this time I made the decision. That is it.

Jack must play, of course. He must play football every three days, which is an unbelievable player. Both this and last season, neither of which happened. He must either work with us or work elsewhere.

The forward made a significant contribution to the club’s triple success in the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in 2022-23, but his performances have been inconsistent and his chances at the club now seem far off.

Grealish has grown accustomed to playing substitute and has only managed four Premier League goals in the last two years.

He was signed for £100m from Aston Villa in 2021, but he was unable to play against Palace in the FA Cup final defeat last Saturday. Guardiola made his surprise debut in the second half, playing for Argentine teenager Claudio Echeverri.

Grealish was “absolutely heartbroken” that he was cut from England’s Euro 2024 squad last summer because he didn’t play a lot of regular games for City and that this has had an impact on his international ambitions.

Shay Given, a former City goalkeeper, claimed that Grealish’s “writing is on the wall” and that he must “see what is out there” for his career.

What is well known is that Kevin de Bruyne’s final game against the Cottagers ended a club’s storied era.

Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, and Maximo Perrone, who have all been on loan this season, don’t seem to have a chance to get back.

In January, Guardiola signed defensive duo John Stones and Nathan Ake, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, who could see their careers come to an end.

These rumors may come up again because Goalkeeper Ederson had a strong connection to moving to Saudi Arabia last summer. According to reports, Bernardo Silva wants a new challenge away from the Premier League while third-choice Scott Carson is set to expire this summer.

What about Ilkay Gundogan, then? The 34-year-old midfielder re-joined Barcelona in the summer and did not reach the same heights as his debut, but did score a stunning bicycle kick against Fulham.

Off the pitch, it will also be a crucial transitional period. Begiristain, Guardiola’s long-time friend and collaborator, will leave this summer, and Viana has already taken over as the new director of football.

With a record revenue of £715 million in their most recent accounts and an overall pre-tax profit of £73.8 million, City are in a strong position to spend this summer. Qualifying for the Champions League is worth more than £100 million for English teams.

Florian Wirtz, a Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, is one player they won’t be moving for, but Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest is still interested, and Tijjan Reijnders of AC Milan has been closely linked with a move to Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola compared a rebuilding to “I don’t have that feeling.” I saw 24 players training the other day and complimented them on how excellent they are, though perhaps the club is a little different.

I don’t think much when people say “new faces will come, especially in positions where we are weaker.” We have players on contracts who want to remain, but I don’t want many of them.

City will be relieved to recover from a subpar campaign and don’t need to wait long to make amends when they play in the Club World Cup in just 24 days.