Pep Guardiola apologizes To Jack Grealish as Man City boss makes worrying admission
Pep Guardiola addressed the media ahead of Manchester City’s FA Cup clash with Leyton Orient, apologizing to Jack Grealish for his limited game time this season.
Among City’s senior players, only John Stones, Rodri, and James McAtee have accumulated fewer Premier League minutes than Grealish, with Stones and Rodri facing major injury setbacks. The £100 million signing has played more than 45 minutes in a match just once since Christmas Day—during City’s 8-0 victory over Salford City in the FA Cup.
Despite being a key player in City’s 2022/23 treble-winning campaign, Grealish finds himself behind Savinho and Jeremy Doku in Guardiola’s pecking order for the left-wing position.
“I’m so sorry some players don’t get the minutes that maybe they deserve,” said Guardiola. “But in the end, the contributions from Jeremy and Savinho have been massive this season. This is the only reason why. It’s not personal, or that I don’t like Jack, or I don’t have confidence in him.”
Savinho, 20, has enjoyed nearly twice as much Premier League action as Grealish this season, while Doku, despite injury setbacks, has also played significantly more.
Guardiola elaborated on the situation, explaining, “Of course, when you give one player more minutes than another, you have more confidence [in them] right now. But I know [Grealish’s] attributes. The big news this season is Savinho. His impact in goals, assists… in our last game at Arsenal, he made an incredible step up defensively and in challenging duels. That’s why he’s getting more minutes.”
Grealish, who has scored twice in his last three appearances, could start against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round. Guardiola is keen on keeping his key players fresh ahead of next week’s Champions League play-off first leg against Real Madrid.
However, the manager insists he remains fully focused on the FA Cup tie before shifting attention to Madrid. “Tomorrow, after the game, we will come back early to Manchester, and if we have time we will start to talk [about Real Madrid],” he said. “Of course, I have an eye on Madrid, but Leyton Orient deserve my attention. It has always been like that. Otherwise, we would not have reached the number of FA Cup semi-finals and finals we have in the last five, six years.”
