Jack Grealish says his omission from England’s Euro 2024 squad was the hardest moment he has had to deal with in his career.
The Manchester City man was not at his best during the 2023-24 campaign and as a result was left out by former head coach Gareth Southgate.
He was replaced by Anthony Gordon, who barely played in Germany despite having the best season of his career with Newcastle.
Grealish, 28, appeared to be a favourite of Southgate’s in previous tournaments, including the 2022 World Cup and 2020 Euros.
But he had to watch this one from home and the ex-Aston Villa man has opened up on how much being left out hurt him.
He said: “When you are on your holidays, every time you turn on the phone or the TV you just see it [the tournament], so it was hard not to see.
JACK 💬 To get over five weeks holiday was very nice. But I am happy now to be back and to get a full pre-season under my belt. pic.twitter.com/MWljTw0WWI
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 29, 2024
“I’ll be honest, football-wise it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with in terms of my own career.
“I was absolutely heartbroken. For myself now moving forward, I have to just try and use that as motivation going into this season.”
Grealish is a 36-cap international and cost Manchester City £100million in 2021.
He feels like he should have been in the squad but says at the end of the day it is what it is and he simply has to work hard to make sure he is at the next major tournament.
On City’s pre-season tour, he added: “I felt I should have been in the [England] squad.
“I feel like I offer something different to players in the England squad.
“But it is what it is.
“As I said, it was the hardest moment for me as a footballer. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career.”
