JACK GRREALISH has admitted he found his early days at Manchester City “so difficult” last summer.
The English ace left his youth club Aston Villa to make a Brit record £100 million move to the Etihad in August 2021.
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To be three lions teammates were still off work when he reported to the City Football Academy for his first day of training.
The only players he had ever spoken to before were gabriel jesus and Bernardo Silva – because he had argued with them in a match at Villa Park a few weeks earlier.
While Pep Guardiola always insisted he was happy with the new kid, his stats in terms of goals and assists were disappointing.
However, it has taken a season or so for Pep’s signings to settle in and there is hope it will be a similar story for Grealish, 26.
He said: “My first day of training, the English boys weren’t back.
“The only two people I really knew were Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo, because I had an argument with them on the pitch in Villa the year before.
“So I had to walk up to them and I was like ‘you’re okay, like’.
“Those first few weeks, getting into this whole new environment, new staff, all about it. Comes to live in Manchester.
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“Walking into this new building and not knowing anyone. Then it’s just adapting to the manager here, like the guys are here.
“It was so hard, honestly.”
Having spent his entire career at Villa, the move took him out of his comfort zone.
Speaking about a new documentary made by City Studios called ‘Together: Champions Again’, he said; “Looking back, it’s a blur now.
“I had never signed with a club before, I had been with Villa all my life, I didn’t know what to expect.
‘I didn’t even know what you do in medicine. I just wasn’t aware of this kind of thing because I’d never done it before.”
Grealish also revealed how his first ever Champions League goal – against RB Leipzig in September – came at a price.
He celebrated by slipping on his knees in front of the City fans, but remained in agony for several days afterwards.
The former skipper of Villa Park said; “It was such a special moment, my first Champions League game. I blew a kiss to family.
‘But did you see my knees afterwards? Honestly, I couldn’t sleep for four nights, but it was all worth it.”