'100 million pound (about 185.3 billion won) man' Jack Grealish (30) has become highly likely to leave Manchester City (Man City) this summer.

Under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City won 2-0 against Fulham in the final league match of round 38 on the 26th (Korea time). With this victory, Manchester City climbed to third place in the league, successfully securing a spot in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League.

However, Grealish, who set the highest transfer fee record in English football when he joined, was excluded from the lineup. He had only started 7 times out of 20 appearances this season, spending 12 matches warming the bench.

According to the British 'Independent,' Guardiola was asked about Grealish's exclusion from the lineup at a post-match press conference. He noted, "It was a matter of choice," while also stating, "Of course, Jack is a player who should be playing, a player who should be on the field every three days."

He continued, "But he has not been able to do that this season or last season. He has to do that whether he is with us or with another team," emphasizing, "This is an issue that Grealish, his agent, and the club need to decide."

He added, "If Grealish stays, that’s fine. He has fought to contribute to the team from the beginning. But today was not the day."

Grealish transferred to Manchester City from Aston Villa in 2021. The record transfer fee of 100 million pounds created immense expectations for Grealish.

In fact, Grealish contributed to achieving a 'treble' by winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in the 2022-2023 season. However, this season, Grealish remained on the bench even in the FA Cup final, where they lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace.

When asked if Guardiola had grievances against Grealish, he responded with a raised voice, "Who said I have grievances with Jack?"

He further asked, "Rico Lewis was also excluded today, and James McAtee performed brilliantly in the last two matches. Why isn’t anyone asking about McAtee?"

He argued, "This isn’t a personal issue. I have 24 players, and I had to exclude 6 for the final match. Today, because Kovacic got sent off, I had to exclude 5."

In particular, Guardiola emphasized, "I was the one who fought to bring Jack here. I am the one who wants him to stay this season and next season, the one who said, 'I need Jack Grealish.' From now on, it will be up to Txiki Begiristain, Hugo Biana, and the agents." Begiristain and Biana are the Director Generals of Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Guardiola, who has faced his first season without a trophy in 8 years, smiled and said, "Just securing a spot in the Champions League today feels like a victory."

He added, "When it became difficult for us to win the Premier League, the players could have said, 'We’ll stop fighting.' There have been cases where the league champions failed to qualify for the Champions League the next season. If that had been the case, we could have ended up 7th, 8th, 9th, or even 10th."

He also stressed, "We never gave up until the end. People may not believe it, but today is a really, really happy day for us," adding, "We have learned a lesson, and next season we will improve to ensure this doesn’t happen again."

[OSEN]