Last update on.From section Man CityJack Grealish's move from London to Manchester City makes him the 9th-most expensive player in all of history.Manchester City has signed Jack Grealish, an England midfielder from Aston Villa, for a British record 100m.The Premier League champions' 25-year old joins them on a six-year contract. He will be wearing the number 10 shirt that Sergio Aguero recently left.This fee is more than the 89m Manchester United paid in 2016 to resign Paul Pogba, a Juventus midfielder.Grealish stated that City is the best team in the country and has a manager who is considered the best in the entire world.It's a dream come true being a part of this club.Grealish is now the ninth-most expensive footballer in history.He could make his debut in Saturday's Community Shield match against Leicester at Wembley for Pep Guardiola.Grealish, a boyhood Villa fan, joined the club at six years old. He went on to play 213 games in all competitions and score 32 goals.He stated that it was a difficult time for him because he was a long-time Aston Villa fan. But, when he told me about the players here, I was able to say yes."Competing to win major trophies was something I always wanted to do." It was an opportunity I couldn't refuse."Txiki Begiristain, the city director of football, stated that Jack's progress over the past few years for country and club has been obvious for everyone to see.His natural talent and his determination to improve as a player has made him one of the most exciting attacking football players in world football."Christian Purslow, chief executive of Villa, explained to supporters why Grealish was sold. He also revealed that there was a 100m release clause within the five-year contract he signed last summer.Purslow stated, "Jack wanted to make sure that if a Champions League club came into his home for him and Aston Villa weren't in the competition, we wouldn't stand in his path.""We agreed to include a release clause. The value was set at a level that we hoped would not be met but that reflected Villa's true value. Manchester City stated that they were willing to pay 100m in order to activate the clause."It was an extremely emotional moment when Jack finally shared his decision with me, and I had no doubt about how difficult it had been for Jack to make that decision to leave."The top five transfer fees in the worldNeymar [Barcelona-Paris St-Germain] 200m, 2017Kylian Mbappe [Monaco-Paris St-Germain] 166m, 2017Philippe Coutinho [Liverpool-Barcelona] 142m in 2018.Ousmane Dembele [Borussia Dortmund-Barcelona] total fee 135m in 2017Joao Felix [Benfica - Atletico Madrid] 113m in 2019Grealish is on the riseJack Grealish used his Aston Villa in the 88th minute against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, 2014After completing the Villa youth program, Grealish was loaned to Notts County in 2013. This loan allowed Grealish to gain senior experience.In May 2014, he made his Villa debut against City. He went on to make 17 Premier League appearances in the 2014-15 season. Villa finished one spot above the relegation zone.He scored his first goal in top flight against Leicester City in September 2015. In 16 league appearances, Villa finished last and were relegated from the Championship.Villa was in the Championship for three seasons before Grealish and Derby County won the play-off final to regain their Premier League status.He played in 36 Premier League games during 2019-20, scoring eight goals. This was the result of his 1-1 draw against West Ham United. It secured Villa's top flight survival on the last day of a season that was interrupted by the coronavirus epidemic.Grealish, a Republic of Ireland Under-21 international player, declared in 2015 that he would like to represent England. He made his senior England debut against Denmark in September 2020 after switching to the Under-21 team.Jack Grealish's statistics for Aston Villa during 2020-21 Premier League seasonIn 26 Premier League games, Grealish scored six goals, two of which were in a 7-2 win against Liverpool. Villa was 11th.He was out of action for three months from mid-February through mid-May. However, he returned to the team just before the campaign ended and was included in Gareth Southgate's England squad for Euro 2020.Grealish was impressive in warm-up wins against Austria, Romania, and made four substitute appearances for England, scoring two assists.(Premier League 2020-21 Season) Aston Villa With Grealish Aston Villa Without Grealish Games 26 12 Win% 50% Goals for 42 Goals Against 29 17 Points Per Game 1.7Grealish deal funded by a 'Book-balancing Exercise'Simon Stone, BBC Sport's AnalyserAll the criticisms of Manchester City's spending, and all the questions about how they manage deals like these without violating profit and sustainability rules are worth it. It is noteworthy that only the second time in Abu Dhabi their club has been responsible for the largest single purchase made by an English club.The first occasion was that never-to-be-forgotten night in 2008 when Sheikh Mansour went on an elaborate sweep of available players to prove he was a man to be taken seriously and spent 50m on Brazilian striker Robinho.Manchester United held the record for seven consecutive years. The Grealish deal is United's 2016 purchase of Paul Pogba for 89 million.Only Tottenham, City's rival 'big six', has not invested in a single player during the pandemic. However, United and Chelsea are the only clubs which can be said to have consistently spent such large sums over many seasons.A book-balancing exercise is also underway.The club's recent exit from Bayern Munich, Leroy Sane's departure for Bayern Munich and the 11m they received as a buy-on payment from Borussia Dortmund selling Jadon Sancho to Manchester United have all contributed to the 109.5m raised by the club over the past twelve months. Sources in the city claim that the club could also raise another 55m through the sale of younger players.This excludes Sergio Aguero, a high-earning Spaniar, leaving Barcelona. It also doesn't include potential sales of larger names before the transfer window closes. The most likely is Bernardo Silva who would like to move to Spain.Some may be apprehensive about the importance of this because some clubs will always have more than others.City is sensitive to their finances, which is understandable given their recent dispute with Uefa about Financial Fair Play.The club is clearly in a different spot than it was 20 years ago when they were trying re-invent their lives under Kevin Keegan. Eyal Berkovic was their big name back then, when he joined them from Celtic for 1.5m.All the latest news about football transfers can be found on this dedicated page.
