Pep Guardiola's Jack Grealish apology, broken promise, telling dressing room secret

Jack Grealish's future at is hanging in the balance after left him out of final action. City endured heartbreak at yet again as they lost to on Saturday, allowing the Eagles to bag their first ever piece of major silverware with a slender 1-0 victory thanks to Eberechi Eze's goal.

With Guardiola opting for Claudio Echeverri and off the bench over , whispers are swirling about whether the Englishman will last at the Etihad until the 2025/26 season kicks off this August.

Despite his blockbuster £100million move from back in 2021, Grealish hasn't quite hit the heights expected under Guardiola's reign.

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The ex-Villa captain has been limited to just seven starts across all competitions this term, while fresh faces such as January signing Omar Marmoush, Jeremy Doku and Savinho have seemingly edged him out of favour. Guardiola, on the other side of the touchline, has made it quite clear he prefers a leaner squad for the upcoming 2025/26 season, even issuing a stark ultimatum to the powers-that-be at City.

He said: "I said to the club I don't want that [a bigger squad]. I don't want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don't want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay. It's impossible for my soul to [tell] my players in the tribune that they cannot play.

"Now it happened to add players immediately. Maybe for three or four months we couldn't select 11 players, we didn't have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people come back but next season it cannot be like that.

"As a manager, I cannot train 24 players and every time I select I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don't want that."

Here, delves into Grealish's uncertain future at , including his relationship with Guardiola and the opinions of some of the UK's leading pundits...

No decisions made, and a Guardiola apology

While Grealish's future at Manchester City remains up in the air, Guardiola has clarified that no decisions will be made until the season concludes, reports . He told the media recently: "We didn't talk, I didn't talk with him.

"People don't believe me, but these things belong to the agents and the club and Txiki [Begiristain], and in this case Hugo [Viana] as well. Both will decide. What is going to happen will happen, but he has to come back to start to play minutes again.

The Manchester City boss also noted that it's not just Grealish who is discontent with a lack of playing time. He added: "It's not [only] Jack. There is not one player in my locker room, and I think all the locker rooms around the , that is happy [when they] do not play.

"When the team is winning and winning they have to figure out how everything happens – but they are not happy. They are here to play and, when they don't play, they are not satisfied. That is the normal position in all the clubs."

In a candid admission, Guardiola also offered an apology to Grealish for his recent lack of game time in an earlier interview. When asked about how hard it was to leave the winger out of his team, Guardiola said: "I feel so sorry for all of the players who don't play."

A public dressing down

After a draw with at the Etihad in March 2024, Guardiola was seen giving a stern talk to his squad on the field – with Grealish, who had been a substitute and struggled to influence the game, among those receiving the manager's pointed feedback. Guardiola was seen in fiery form as he exchanged words with a visibly dejected Grealish, dramatically gesturing and sporting an intense expression.

Speaking about the moment, Guardiola laced his explanation with hefty sarcasm, telling the media: "I do it for the cameras, for my ego. I'm the famous person of the team, if it's on camera then I can sleep because I have incredible satisfaction.

"I always try to criticise the players there and let them know how bad they are. When Erling [Haaland] scores three goals, the compliments have to be with me, not with them, that's why I use the cameras to do it. My advice next time is; don't film us and it will not be a problem."

A broken promise

It appears Guardiola's initial vision with regards to positioning for Grealish has not materialised. The Athletic had reported that Guardiola intended to deploy Grealish as a dynamic midfielder. The manager surprised him with the No. 10 shirt as opposed to the number 19 he thought he was set to receive, having kept it as a secret from the England star. But ultimately, the reality has been different.

Instead, Grealish has found that promise around his playing position to be broken, finding himself primarily on the left flank, contending for minutes with players like Doku and , while central stalwarts and remain firm fixtures in the midfield. It's telling too that despite being given such a prominent shirt number in the squad, Grealish hasn't been the key player he was set out to be in Guardiola's team.

On the infrequent occasions Grealish has taken up a central position, it has often come late in matches with City desperate for a goal – a hurried switch that hasn't granted him ample opportunity to adapt and truly impact the game.

Alan shearer says it's time to go for disliked Grealish

has said that it's time that Grealish parts ways with Manchester City. Speaking on The Rest is podcast following Grealish's omission from the FA Cup final lineup, the pundit said: "Did it surprise me yesterday [that City lost]? No, because that's what they've been like all season. They didn't deserve to win it, they didn't do enough to win it.

"You mentioned . His time is up at Man City, he has to leave. For him [Guardiola] to bring a debutant on, a young boy [Claudio Echeverri] and Gundogan on when they're desperate for a goal rather than Jack Grealish... his time is up, he's done at Man City, he has to leave. For whatever reason, Pep's done with him, he doesn't like him, his time is up it really is."

, however, suggested Grealish hasn't entirely unleashed his talent in Manchester, adding: "You know what is sad though, the fact that players make a move and sometimes it doesn't work out for any reason.

"But I feel as though Jack's played within himself. If he'd gone there and been losing the ball because he'd tried to take people on, making the wrong pass or whatever... but I don't feel like we've seen the real Jack Grealish."

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