Grealish reveals message from Haaland about his British record fee after being jeered

Matt Stead
Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish has revealed what new Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland has said about his British record transfer fee.

Haaland completed his protracted £51m move from Borussia Dortmund to Premier League champions Manchester City in June, signing a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium.

The transfer only actually ranks as the club’s ninth most expensive ever, behind the signings of Benjamin Mendy, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.

Atop that list is Jack Grealish, who joined from Aston Villa for a British record £100m in August 2021.


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The former Villa captain has hailed Haaland and explained that the Norwegian has already made reference to his price.

“Erling’s looked good in training and once he reaches full fitness will be unstoppable,” Grealish said. “I can’t wait to play with him and I’m really looking forward to it.

“He actually said to me, ‘I’m only half the price of you so I haven’t got the pressure’.

“Obviously it’s always going to be big expectations but nowadays you have to deal with it. I suppose if he misses a chance or whatever then people are always going to have something to say. I’ve had to get used to it myself.

“He is a great guy, a brilliant guy. The first day that I met him we took a car together and even after that ride I thought, ‘What a guy’. He’s so down to earth and quite up front with the way he is. You get used to that.”

Grealish played the villain in a pre-season victory over Club America, suffering a number of fouls and being targeted by the Mexican club.

It even developed into an argument and physical confrontation between Grealish and opposition goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Haaland did not feature in that match – he is expected to play against Bayern Munich on Sunday – but fellow new signing Julian Alvarez played well in a game settled by two Kevin De Bruyne goals.

“Julian was brilliant,” Grealish said, before comparing the forward to a Premier League legend.

“He actually reminds me of Vardy, the way he presses, can finish and runs in behind.”