Footage emerges of Jack Grealish’s interaction with young Aston Villa fan and his reaction says it all

A young fan wanted Manchester City winger Jack Grealish to sign his Villa shirt.

Jack Grealish was involved in a wholesome interaction with a young Aston Villa supporter during Manchester City’s pre-season tour of the USA.

Having spent 19 years at his boyhood club, Grealish became the most expensive British player ever in 2021, when he left Villa Park to join Premier League champions Manchester City.

The midfielder bid an emotional farewell after completing his £100 million move, declaring he will “always” be an Aston Villa fan.

“Every time I put on the Villa shirt I played with my heart on my sleeve, being given the armband was both a privilege and an honour for me and my family and I’ve loved every minute of it,” he said.

“‘I’ll always be a Villa fan. I love this club with all my heart and I hope you understand my reasons for seeking a new challenge.”

At the time, a minority of supporters criticised Grealish’s decision to leave his boyhood club for Manchester. In fact, a quick search on social media suggests some still hold resentment to this day.

But earlier this week, a young Villan showed his appreciation for the Birmingham-born midfielder as he took part in a pre-season training session in Orlando, Florida.

As you can see from the footage below, the supporter sprinted over to Grealish before asking him to sign his jersey. “Villa fan? So you still like me then,” he smiled. “Of course.”

You can see how much that moment meant to Grealish, who has previously described his Aston Villa departure as “one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”

Explaining his move further, he added: “It came down to a few things. It was just something I felt I couldn’t turn down – the chance to play Champions League football, to challenge for trophies and to play next to people like Kevin De Bruyne, who I have looked up to for the last few years.

“Also playing for the best manager in the world was obviously a massive factor in it.”

Image credit: Getty

Grealish, who was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, is aiming to bounceback in the coming months after a far-from-perfect campaign for City last season.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “Obviously I’m really happy to be back. It was probably one of the longest summer breaks I’ve had in the last three or four years.

“I will be honest, I would say football wise [being left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad] it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my career.

“I was absolutely heartbroken and then when you’re on your holidays, every time you turn your phone on or TV you see it.

“I have had a lot of ups and downs in my career. It was difficult but I will use this as motivation going into this new season and hopefully I can prove a few people wrong.

“I have to use that now as motivation going into this season and try and have the same mentality I had two years ago in my first season at City.

“I didn’t perform as well as I could have, but in the second I played in a lot of the games and that was down to the first season I had, I wanted to come back stronger. I want to do that again.”