Manchester City star Jack Grealish has hailed Pep Guardiola as a man and a manager, describing him as ‘easily the best ever’.
Guardiola made history by guiding Man City to a fourth-straight Premier League title as their domestic dominance continues.
With six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups and a Champions League under his belt, Guardiola has established himself as one of the greatest managers England has ever seen.
But for Grealish, who has now won three top-flight titles under the Spaniard, it is the personal touch off the pitch that makes Guardiola truly special.
Discussing Guardiola’s animated antics in Man City’s recent documentary, Treble Winners, Grealish told talkSPORT in an exclusive interview: “He’s quite intense as you’ve probably seen.
“I think that was on a few of the clips, but sometimes I find that he goes more mad if we’ve played well, whereas if we haven’t played well then he wants to give us a bit of loving.
“He’s an unbelievable manager. There have been times this year where I’ve struggled off the pitch with my own stuff, I’ll openly say that, and he’s been there for me in his office.
“A few times I’ve been out for food with him and he’s been unbelievable.
“He’s a great manager and in my opinion he’s easily the best ever, but more than anything, he’s a really good person.
“He has a big heart and I thank him for that this season.”
Asked by Brazil if Pep has ever asked him to get him some Gucci clothing, Grealish replied: “I don’t know if he could pull it off, to be honest. Just me and you, Al!”
Grealish was a star of City’s iconic treble-winning campaign of 2022/23 but suffered numerous setbacks during the 2023/24 season.
But the midfielder says that despite winning three Premier League titles in a row and a spate of other trophies, he doesn’t take any of it for granted.
He said: “As soon as I left Villa, which was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make, I knew that I wanted to win stuff.
“I’ve come here and fortunately I’ve won a lot, even the Club World Cup and trophies like this, but the Premier League was the main one that I wanted to win.
“Being from England and growing up here, it was the one trophy that I was desperate to win and to win three in a row is just unbelievable.
“I’ll be honest, when I first signed here I didn’t think I was going to win three in a row but it’s been unbelievable and I don’t take any of it for granted.
“Hopefully there’s more to come.”
He will hope to be involved in Man City’s FA Cup final with rivals Manchester United this weekend.
The England superstar will then head off to join the nation’s Euro 2024 training camp after being named in Gareth Southgate’s preliminary 33-man squad.