Man Utd icon urges Jack Grealish against Everton transfer mistake, goes back on Cristiano Ronaldo comparison
Gary Neville “strongly believes” that Everton-bound Jack Grealish should stay put at Manchester City – despite saying something quite different a year ago.
Last summer, Neville was all for the winger swapping Man City for Everton on loan after falling out of favour under then-boss Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester United legend even went as far as saying that the England international was a “million miles” better than what the rest of the Everton squad had to offer.
Last August, Neville said on Grealish, “Your career is a short one in professional football. For someone like him, the skill, the excitement he brings to football fans, you need to see him on the pitch.
“He’s probably got five or six years left where he needs to play football and influence games every single week. He will be a big signing for Everton. He’s a level in quality above anything that they’ve got by a million miles.”
In the first half of last season, Grealish’s quality was plain to see as he scored two goals and bagged six assists in 22 games, which at the time made him their most creative player.
However, a foot injury ended his season prematurely, prompting a heart-felt message from Grealish to Everton fans.
Back in February, he wrote on Instagram, “Didn’t want the season to end like this but that’s football, gutted. Surgery done and now all focus on getting back fit. I know for sure I will come back fitter, stronger and better than before.
“The support I’ve had since coming to this unbelievable club has meant the world to me. The staff, my teammates and especially the fans have been incredible and I absolutely love representing this club.
“I’ll be backing the lads all the way and doing everything I can to get back as soon as possible. Thank you again for all the love, it means so much. UTFT (Up the f****** Toffees).”
Gary Neville backs away from Jack Grealish stance
While Neville was all for Grealish’s move a year ago, he appears to have had a change of heart on the 30-year-old. Many Everton fans were furious that the club entertained the possibility of letting academy star Harrison Armstrong leave and some are not content with their dealings so far this summer.
That may be why Neville thinks Grealish should stay at Man City, even if he is a bit-part player under Enzo Maresca.
The Sky Sports pundit said this weekend, “If the club’s not right that you’re going to go to, definitely do not go. You’re better off staying at Manchester City and playing 20 games and still looking like you’re playing in a great side. I would always go for the second bit. He’s better off staying at Manchester City. I strongly believe that.”
Neville has gone back and forth on Grealish over the past year. Indeed, at the start of last season, he felt the winger would run into a similar problem at Everton as when Cristiano Ronaldo returned for his second spell at Man Utd in 2021.
On last season’s Everton move, he said, “My concern is that he’s going to end up from going from a treble-winning Man City team, playing with Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Rodri and he’s now going to go into a team that’s got obviously inferior players around him, and is he going to become disillusioned with it and feel that they’re not up to the standard of him.
“So I think he’s going to have to show patience, I think he’s going to have to show leadership. When you think about when Cristiano Ronaldo came back to United and it was quite clear he became frustrated playing with players that maybe wasn’t at the standard he’d been used to at Real Madrid and the other clubs he played at and United previously.”
Clearly, this didn’t happen as Grealish has greenlit his loan return to Everton for the 2026-27 campaign.
