Aston Villa Early career Having started at
Highgate United,
Aston Villa fan Grealish joined the club as a six-year-old. At the age of 16, he was named as an unused
substitute in a 4–2 home
Premier League defeat against
Chelsea on 31 March 2012. Grealish was part of the club's under-19 team that won the
2012–13 NextGen Series.
2013–2014: Loan to Notts County On 13 September 2013, Grealish joined
League One club
Notts County on a youth
loan until 13 January 2014. The 18-year-old made his professional debut the following day, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for
David Bell in a 3–1 away defeat to
Milton Keynes Dons. On 7 December, he scored his first career goal, beating three defenders to score the last goal in a 3–1 win over
Gillingham at
Meadow Lane, and followed this a week later by opening a 4–0 victory at
Colchester United. Grealish extended his loan with Notts County on 17 January 2014 until the end of the season. He ended his loan with five goals and seven
assists in 38 appearances. Grealish made his first start in a
Football League Cup third round tie on 27 August against
Leyton Orient at Villa Park, which his team lost 1–0. He played the full 90 minutes. With his contract due to expire in the summer of 2015, he was offered a new four-year deal by the club in September 2014. On 7 March 2015, in the sixth round of the
FA Cup, a 2–0 home win over
West Bromwich Albion, Grealish replaced
Charles N'Zogbia after 74 minutes, and was sent off for a second booking for
diving in added time. On 7 April, Grealish started his first match for Aston Villa in the Premier League, a 3–3 home draw against
Queens Park Rangers in which his performance was highly praised. On 18 April, in the FA Cup semi-final against
Liverpool at
Wembley Stadium, Grealish played a part in both of Villa's goals including assisting
Fabian Delph's winner, as they came from behind to advance to the final. On 30 May, Grealish played for the entirety of the
2015 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, as Villa lost 4–0 to
Arsenal. In April 2015, Grealish was warned by Aston Villa manager
Tim Sherwood after
The Sun published images showing him allegedly inhaling
nitrous oxide for recreational purposes. Sherwood said that "We can't condone that behaviour. He is now in a responsible position as a professional footballer, he's got to make sure it won't happen again". Sherwood later said in May 2015 that Grealish was learning from his friendship with his midfield partner, the experienced
Joe Cole. Sherwood considered Cole a role model for Grealish when concealing his private life, as he "didn't read too much about Joe being on the front pages". Grealish scored his first goal for Villa on 13 September 2015, a 20-yard shot to open the scoring away to
Leicester City; however, his team lost 3–2. In November, he chose to stay in North West England and go clubbing after Villa's 4–0 loss to
Everton. New manager
Rémi Garde punished him for this decision by making Grealish train with the under-21 team, and stated that "You have to behave as a professional and it was not the case this time for Jack". He returned to full training on 8 December. On 7 January 2016,
Leeds United head coach
Steve Evans said that Villa had rejected an enquiry to take Grealish on loan. Villa finished the season in last place, ending their status as Premier League ever-presents. Grealish played 16 matches, all defeats, breaking a record for worst season previously held by Sunderland's
Sean Thornton, who lost in all 11 of his appearances in
2002–03.
2016–2019: Injury and regained form In September, Villa opened an internal disciplinary investigation after reports that Grealish was at a party at a Birmingham hotel which had to be shut down by the police in the early morning. In response, owner
Tony Xia wrote on Twitter that Grealish had to focus on and off the pitch, and associate with the right people. In October, he was suspended for three matches after accepting a charge of violent conduct following a stamp on
Conor Coady in Villa's 1–1 draw with
Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 29 July 2017, during a pre-season friendly against
Watford, while challenging for a ball in the air near the Watford box, the 21-year-old collided with Watford midfielder
Tom Cleverley. The collision caused him to be rushed to the
Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham where he went through surgery. It was later revealed that he had been elbowed by Cleverley, causing a
ruptured kidney, and leaving him sidelined for three months as he recovered before making his return as a second-half substitute for
Glenn Whelan in a 2–1 home defeat to
Sheffield Wednesday on 4 November. In an interview with the
Daily Mirror in May 2018, he revealed that the injury had been life-threatening. In the summer of 2018, following Villa's loss in the play-off final to
Fulham which saw them miss out on promotion to the Premier League and with his contract due to expire in September, Grealish was linked with a move to
Tottenham Hotspur but it failed and he remained at the club. On 24 September, Grealish signed a new five-year contract with Villa until 2023. After former captain
John Terry departed the club and club captain
James Chester and vice-captain
Alan Hutton suffered injuries, Grealish was given the captaincy in March 2019 which he retained for the remainder of the season. On 22 April 2019, the team amassed a club record 10 consecutive league wins following a 1–0 home victory over
Millwall, in the second of which Grealish was punched from behind by a pitch invader during the
Second City derby match away to
Birmingham City. Later in the second half, Grealish scored to give Villa a 1–0 victory. Paul Mitchell, 27, from
Rubery, was sent to prison for 14 weeks for pitch encroachment and assault. This form granted Villa a place in the play-offs where victories over West Bromwich Albion over two semi-final legs via a penalty shootout and
Derby County in the final gained them promotion to the Premier League after an absence of three years.
2019–2021: Club captaincy, talisman and individual success Following Aston Villa's return to the Premier League, with Chester still injured and the departure of Hutton, Grealish was announced as the new club captain. Grealish's first goal of the
2019–20 season came in the second round of the
2019–20 EFL Cup against
Crewe Alexandra on 27 August 2019. His first Premier League goal of Aston Villa's return season came on 5 October, netting his side's third goal in a 5–1 away win over
Norwich City. The result lifted the club out of the bottom three and leapfrogged their opponents in the Premier League table. In March 2020, the
2019-20 Premier League season was suspended, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. During that enforced break, it was revealed that Grealish had violated government guidance to stay home. He accepted that his actions were "wrong and entirely unnecessary" and was fined by the club. Grealish was fouled 167 times across the season; this was the most fouls won by a player in a single Premier League campaign, with Grealish passing the record with over eight matches remaining in the season. On 26 July 2020, he scored on the final day, as Aston Villa clinched survival in the Premier League with a 1–1 draw against
West Ham United, as their relegation rivals Watford lost 3–2 to Arsenal. At the club's end of season awards, Grealish was voted the Villa's Player of the Season by both the supporters and his fellow players. He also finished the season as the club's leading goalscorer with eight goals in the Premier League and 10 in all competitions. He scored his first league goal of the campaign in Villa's second match on 28 September; the first goal in a 3–0 win at newly promoted
Fulham. On 4 October, he scored twice and provided three assists in a 7–2 home victory over Liverpool. It was Liverpool's heaviest defeat in 57 years and was the first time in Premier League history that a reigning champion had conceded seven goals in a single match. It took almost a month for Grealish to score again, when he netted a 97th-minute goal against
Southampton, although it was not enough as Villa lost 4–3.
Manchester City 2021–2022: Transfer and emergence in 2021 On 5 August 2021, Manchester City announced that they had signed Grealish on a six-year contract that would run until June 2027. It was reported by numerous outlets that the transfer fee paid to Aston Villa was for the amount of £100 million, which at the time constituted the
most expensive transfer of an English player ever, as well as the highest fee ever paid by a British club. Grealish was given the
number 10 shirt by the team which had previously been worn by striker
Sergio Agüero, who departed from City the month prior after ten seasons with the team. Grealish made his debut for City in a 1–0 defeat against
Tottenham Hotspur on the first matchday of the
2021–22 Premier League. On 21 August, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win over Norwich City. Grealish would score on his
UEFA Champions League debut on 15 September, putting City 4–2 up in an eventual 6–3 group stage victory against
RB Leipzig. He also assisted
Nathan Aké's goal for City's opener. In December 2021, Grealish and teammate
Phil Foden were dropped for a game against Newcastle after a nightclub visit. Although he finished the campaign with a Premier League title, Grealish admitted difficulties in his
debut season at Manchester City, stating that adapting to the club's style of play had been "much more difficult" than he imagined, despite the fact that City manager
Pep Guardiola believed he was successfully fulfilling his role. Grealish was later defended from his critics by his teammate
Kevin De Bruyne, who voiced his belief that Grealish was an easy target for criticism because of the media spotlight on English players. Moreover,
İlkay Gündoğan claimed that Grealish was "so misunderstood by some of the media".
2022–2023: Breakthrough and continental treble On 17 September 2022, Grealish scored his first goal of the
2022–23 season in an away victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming after just 55 seconds. Grealish netted the opener of City's eventual 2–1
derby defeat against
Manchester United on 14 January 2023. On 15 February, he scored in a 3–1 away victory against league leaders Arsenal to help City overtake them in the Premier League title race. Grealish assisted
Riyad Mahrez for City's goal against RB Leipzig in the
2022–23 Champions League round of 16 first leg on 22 February 2023, and was later lauded as "impossible to play against" by both
Rio Ferdinand and
Owen Hargreaves. Grealish was highly commended for his performance against Liverpool on 1 April, in which Manchester City won 4–1 after going a goal behind; in the match, he scored and also provided an assist for
Julián Álvarez. Following a 1–1 draw away to
Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, it was calculated at this point that Grealish had created 35 chances in that season's Champions League alone; this was the most on record by an English player in a single season. In the return leg, Grealish was a standout performer as City beat Madrid 4–0 at home, being described by Jamie Jackson of
The Guardian as "scintillating". On 20 May 2023, Grealish won his second consecutive Premier League title after Arsenal lost 1–0 to
Nottingham Forest. Manchester City lifted the
trophy the following day. On 3 June, Grealish started in City's victory against Manchester United in the
final of the
FA Cup. Grealish later spoke of how the achievement was the "stuff you dream of when you're a little kid". One week later, he played the entirety of his side's
Champions League final against
Inter Milan as Manchester City sealed their first and only
continental treble after winning with a score-line of 1–0. In a post-match interview, Grealish said the achievement was "what you work your whole life for" and called his manager Guardiola a "genius". He was later seen celebrating, still in full kit, just hours before Manchester City's treble parade. During this parade, Grealish was also positively identified by the media as enjoying himself greatly. Following Manchester City's highly successful
2022–23 season, it was suggested that Grealish could become a potential candidate for the
Ballon d'Or. Grealish was also praised by critics for his large contribution to Manchester City's success. Neil Johnston of
BBC Sport commented that Grealish had become "almost undroppable for the big games". Grealish himself commented that he now felt "like one of the main players [of Manchester City]" and that he was at a stage whereby he was "the fittest… [he had ever] been".
2023–2025: UEFA Super Cup victory and injury setbacks in 2023 On 16 August 2023, Grealish started in Manchester City's
2023 UEFA Super Cup victory over
Sevilla, converting his penalty in the
shoot-out after the match had finished 1–1 following regulation time. On 27 August, Grealish was unavailable due to a
dead leg and, proceeding this, endured a run of games on the bench. On 25 October, Grealish was selected in the starting line-up for Manchester City's game against
Young Boys, with Pep Guardiola stating that he did not "have a piece of doubt about Jack". On 29 October, Grealish returned to Manchester City's regular
Premier League starting XI in the
Manchester derby and was highly praised for his performance in the match. On 11 January 2025, Grealish scored his first club goal in over a year, a penalty in an 8–0 home victory against
Salford City in the
FA Cup third round. Later that month, on 22 January, he netted his first UEFA Champions League goal since the 2021–22 season, opening the scoring for Manchester City in a 4–2 away defeat to
Paris Saint-Germain during the
league phase. On 2 April 2025, he scored his first and only Premier League goal of the
2024–25 season, opening the scoring in a 2–0 victory over Leicester City. However, he was ultimately left out of the club's squad for the
2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
2025–26: Loan to Everton On 12 August 2025, Grealish was loaned out to fellow Premier League club
Everton for the
2025–26 season. On 18 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away defeat to
Leeds United in their first game of the Premier League season, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute for
Tim Iroegbunam. On 24 August, during his first start for the club, Grealish assisted both goals in a 2–0 victory over
Brighton & Hove Albion in Everton's first match at
Hill Dickinson Stadium, the first being the inaugural competitive assist in the stadium's history. On 30 August, he recorded two more assists in a 3–2 away win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 12 September, Grealish received the
Player of the Month award for the first time in his career. He earned this award through the performances throughout August in which he provided four assists. On 5 October, Grealish scored his first goal for Everton when he converted a deflected shot from
Beto against
Crystal Palace. The goal, scored in injury time, secured a 2–1 comeback win and broke
Crystal Palace's 19-match unbeaten run. On 2 December 2025, Grealish scored his second Premier League goal for Everton, netting the winner in a 1–0 victory over AFC Bournemouth. ==International career==