Jack Grealish opens up on manager’s decision that left him “devastated”
England and Manchester City midfielder has criticised Gareth Southgate’s decision to not select him for the Three Lions squad for Euro 2024.
The Man City star was not chosen to become a part of the England squad for Euro 2024 in the summer, a decision that stunned the squad.
Southgate’s team reached the final of the tournament but they were beaten by Spain.
Along with Marcus Rashford, Grealish was a prominent omission from the squad and the likes of Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen were selected in place of the Man City man.
Grealish believes that he offers something different than goals and he should have been selected for the squad by the ex-England boss.
He said, as reported by The Mirror:
“I think everyone can imagine I was absolutely devastated. It was probably one of the most difficult periods of my life. I think my whole career has been a lot of ups and downs, but, yeah, that was definitely right up there in terms of the downs. I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it because it’s just me, you know…
“I felt like I didn’t have the best season. You look at some players, for example, in my position, even the likes of Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, people like this, they scored a lot of goals, which 100 per cent I agree with. But I just know that my game is not just about goals. I think I give so much more to the team than just goals
“So, yeah, you know, you asked me do I think I should have gone? And I still think that, yeah, I should have, but obviously it wasn’t meant to be.”
England struggled in the attacking third at the Euros and were only bailed out by inspiring performances from Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer.
Southgate’s team lost the final against Spain and after that, his scrutiny was much more deep as compared to what would have happened if the Three Lions had won the tournament.
Jack Grealish has struggled at club level in last 12 months
Grealish believes that he should have been a part of the England squad because of his ability to offer something other than goals.
The Man City man has struggled at club level as well, with the arrival of Jeremy Doku dropping the former Aston Villa man to the bench at the Etihad Stadium.
The midfielder has also been linked with a move back to former club Aston Villa.
After being part of the Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 squads under Southgate, Grealish was left out of the Euro 2024 squad in what was a tough decision for the manager.
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