Midfielder Jack Grealish has denied being a party animal and has no regrets about celebrating his triumph with Man City.
In the 2022-2023 season, Grealish scored five goals and assisted 11 goals, helping Man City win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. After that, Man City players celebrated this achievement for three days. Grealish was the main character in the Cup procession in Manchester on the afternoon of June 12, when the English star was shirtless and covered in champagne by Haaland.
Before that, Grealish half-jokingly said that he stayed up for two days and nights to party and drink, and had to be helped by teammate Kyle Walker after an all-night drinking party in Ibiza. When he joined the England team on the evening of June 14, Grealish and the Man City stars, including Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden, and Kalvin Phillips, were warned by coach Gareth Southgate to stop drinking and partying and focus on the game.
Grealish at the treble celebration party with his Man City teammates after the parade on the streets of Manchester on June 12. Photo: PA
Grealish sat out the 4-0 win over Malta on June 16. In the next match on June 19, he was brought on to replace Marcus Rashford from the 58th minute of the 7-0 win over North Macedonia in Group C of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
After the match, when asked if he had over-celebrated, Grealish replied: "I'm not a party person. I'm not going to stand here and say I didn't drink or party. But it was a time for me to enjoy myself, I'm living the dream of playing for the best club in the world, I've just won the treble. And I'm going on holiday with my family and friends, and I rarely get to spend time like that in four weeks' time."
Grealish believes it is right for him and his teammates to celebrate and party after the most successful season of his career and possibly never win another treble. "I've just finished a very long season, played in the 2022 World Cup, won three trophies and will be back in training in about four weeks. So why not let loose and enjoy yourself?", the 27-year-old midfielder continued.
The Man City player revealed that he was feeling giddy when he joined the team on the evening of June 14, but did not speak to coach Gareth Southgate about the recent celebrations and continued to train as normal. Grealish knew in advance that he would not play against Malta, and worked hard to train afterwards to be available for the match against North Macedonia.
England are leading Group C with 12 absolute points and have a good chance of qualifying for the Euro 2024 finals. Following the "Three Lions" are Ukraine with six points and Italy with three points. In the next training session, Grealish and his teammates will meet Ukraine on September 9 and Scotland on September 12.
Hong Duy
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