Jack Grealish’s first Pep talk: Guardiola welcomes his £100million signing on Instagram

It appears that despite the new domestic season being just around the corner, Pep Guardiola has caught Olympics fever. 

The Manchester City boss uploaded an image to Instagram of him speaking to new £100m British-record signing Jack Grealish in his office, with Guardiola’s attention also partly on the men’s basketball semi-finals as the TV stayed on in the background. 

The post naturally sent City fans into a frenzy as it racked up around 60,000 likes within just 30 minutes of it going live, with the caption simply reading: ‘Welcome @jackgrealish #mancity’.

Pep Guardiola’s Instagram post of him and Jack Grealish talking gained a huge response

Grealish put pen to paper on a six-year deal and became Manchester City’s new No 10

The £100million British-record transfer fee makes him the ninth-most expensive player ever

Grealish’s transfer from boyhood club Aston Villa makes him the ninth-most expensive player of all time and he penned a heartfelt message to the club he’d joined at six years old, vowing that he would remain a fan for life.  

It read: ‘I’ve been at Aston Villa for 19 years and I’ve been a fan my whole life. I’ve come up through the ranks and captained my club back to the top tier of English football. It’s impossible to put my feelings into words, but I’ll try.

‘When I first came to Villa I had my own personal dreams and ambitions like getting into the first team, scoring my first goal & scoring the winner in a derby. It wasn’t until we got relegated that I felt a greater sense of purpose. 

‘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.

‘I want to thank the manager and my teammates, I’ll never forget everything we achieved together… and to the fans who have supported me through everything, I can’t thank you enough.

‘To all my coaches and all the people who work at the club behind the scenes who have done so much for me over the years – thank you.

Grealish joined Aston Villa when he was six and enjoy the best season of his career last term

‘I’ll always be a Villa fan – I love this club with all my heart & I hope you understand my reasons for seeking a new challenge. The club are in great hands, the manager, the lads, the new signings coming in – it’s an exciting times to be a Villa fan.

‘I’ll see you all again soon. Until next time. UTV.

Jack’

City fans are salivating at the prospect of Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne linking up at the Etihad

The 25-year-old said after signing a six-year deal that his main motivation for the switch was to win trophies, something Guardiola knows a thing or two about. 

The managerial maestro has won a mind-boggling 32 trophies while in the dugout, picking his first when he guided Barcelona’s B team to league glory in the fifth tier of Spanish football in 2008.

The England star has also spoken about his admiration for new team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, with City’s creative talisman welcoming the club’s new No 10 to the club soon after his arrival was announced, saying: ‘Welcome to the team @jackgrealish. Time to get to work’.

Grealish is now working under a manager who has won 32 trophies in the last 14 seasons

The Belgian was one of only three players to produce more assists than Grealish last season – the others being Bruno Fernandes and City target Harry Kane – and fans are salivating at the prospect of the pair donning the same colours. 

They may not need to wait long for that to happen, with the possibility of the Brummie making his debut in Saturday’s Community Shield against FA Cup holders Leicester.  

Raheem Sterling followed De Bruyne’s lead this morning with a Twitter post that showed the pair celebrating after Kane’s goal to make it 2-0 for England against Germany at Euro 2020 last month.