Jack Grealish believes that Graeme Souness has a ‘problem’ with him following more critical comments the former midfielder has made about him.
On Tuesday, the Liverpool legend appeared on talkSPORT with claims that Grealish has not shown any signs of improvement since his record £100 million move to Manchester City. This follows comments made by Souness earlier this year where he said the attacker was ‘not a quick learner’.
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The former Aston Villa man is currently away on international duty with England as he prepares for the Three Lions’ huge UEFA Nations League clash with Italy on Friday night. He headed into this international break having finally got off the mark for Pep Guardiola’s side this season when he opened the scoring in City’s 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the Italy match, Grealish said: “I don’t know what his [Souness] problem is with me. He always says stuff about me.
“I try not to read a lot of it. It is difficult when he's on Sky Sports and it's everywhere around the training ground at times. He was obviously a great player and won a lot but I don't know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he's got.
“I know my own ability. I know before he used to say a lot of stuff about me not moving the ball quicker, but when I'm playing for a manager like Pep Guardiola and he's telling me to keep the ball as much as I can and have balls to take it everywhere, that's what I'll try to do.
“Obviously I am always going to have people (criticising) if I'm not playing well. I always watch my games back and I am very critical of myself. I know there were games, especially in the second half of last season, where I wasn't at my best at all. I'll always have people on my back but I've just got to try to go and perform.”
When asked about the mental toll of such scathings from pundits, Grealish said it is more concerning for his family than himself.
He added: “There's not much you can do, really. It probably affects my family more than me. Nowadays, people have so much to say, whether that be on social media or pundits and stuff like that. I've had to learn to deal with it. If it was my mum or my dad, I'd listen a lot more.”
Souness, 69, has a reputation for his criticism of players. It was only a few weeks ago that he was attacking former Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings after Steven Gerrard handed the armband to John McGinn ahead of 2022-23.
