Real Madrid and Manchester United were reportedly offered a chance to sign Jack Grealish by Aston Villa before he was sold to Manchester City.
According to a report from The Athletic, Aston Villa contacted Manchester United and Real Madrid to offer them the services of Jack Grealish before the playmaker signed for Manchester City.
The 25-year-old England playmaker left Aston Villa last week, signing for Manchester City in a British record £100 million transfer. Links with the Premier League champions had been doing the rounds weeks before the move, with it even being claimed that the Villans had knocked back an offer and tabled a new contract for Grealish.
Ultimately, though, Pep Guardiola & co. prevailed in the battle, landing the Englishman, who has been one of the best performers in the Premier League since Villa earned promotion back in 2019. However, a new report has now come to light, which indicates that things could have been much different for both Grealish and City.
The Athletic is claiming that Aston Villa were reluctant to do business with the Cityzens as the Midlands outfit were concerned about the financial muscle of the Mancunian outfit that is threatening to damage the competition in the Premier League. To that end, Villa dragged on negotiations for as long as they could while also opening talks with Manchester United and Real Madrid to sell Grealish.
It is no secret that Manchester United have held an interest in Grealish in the past. In fact, not long ago, it had been mooted that the Red Devils were going head-to-head with their local rivals for the signing of the former Aston Villa captain. However, since then, Manchester United have added Jadon Sancho to their ranks and with Jesse Lingard also back, there would simply be no room for Grealish.
The report mentions that Manchester United still admire Grealish and would have considered a deal, but only in the next summer and that too, over a potential player swap deal.
As for Real Madrid, there really have been no links with Grealish in the recent past, but the 25-year-old is certainly a player that they could have done with. Eden Hazard’s unending struggles, the uncertainty around the future of Marco Asensio, the lack of consistency from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes are all major concerns for Carlo Ancelotti.
Grealish, thus, would have been a major signing for the Spanish capital club. However, given their financial situation they were in no position to afford the England star and would only have been able to offer a player-exchange deal, the report adds.
As a result, Villa gave in, with Grealish having his heart set on a move to Manchester City and the Premier League champions unknowingly triggering his release clause. They are now gunning for the transfer of Tottenham Hotspur superstar Harry Kane as well. Should that deal go through as well, the Premier League title race could very well be a foregone conclusion this season.