Jack Grealish given surprising chance to leave Man City as big European club offers way out
A top Champions League club is said to be planning a surprise move for Manchester City winger Jack Grealish.
Grealish, 30, spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Everton, where he scored two goals and made six assists in 22 games before breaking his foot against his old team Aston Villa in January. That injury ended his season early and dashed his hopes of making England’s World Cup squad.
He stayed with Everton’s medical staff for the rest of the season and went back to training with Man City in July. But on July 29, news came out that Grealish wasn’t part of City’s pre-season tour to Asia.
Jack cleared things up, saying he wasn’t left out but was still recovering from injury. “Just to let you know, I’m still recovering from an injury so I’m not training yet,” he posted on social media. “Haven’t been ‘left out’ so stop talking rubbish, thanks.”
Grealish has one year left on his City contract and would probably need to take a big pay cut to move this summer, as he reportedly earns around £300,000 a week.
While he seemed less favored by Pep Guardiola in his last two seasons, new coach Enzo Maresca looks open to working with him. Maresca said in July, “Jack is here, he’s a Manchester City player. I like to work with players who belong to the club. I have a good relationship with Jack because he has a big heart and is a good guy. We’ll see what happens.”
Despite that, reports say Atletico Madrid from La Liga are interested in signing Grealish. According to The Sun, Atleti admire his hard work and think he could fit well in Diego Simeone’s system. Simeone has experience with English players like Kieran Trippier and Conor Gallagher.
It’s not clear if Grealish would start regularly at Atletico, with new signing Lee Kang-in and players like Álex Baena, Thiago Almada, and Ademola Lookman also competing for wing spots.
Atleti had a tough 2025/26 season, finishing fourth in La Liga, losing the Copa del Rey final on penalties to Real Sociedad, and falling to Arsenal in the Champions League semis.
If a move to Spain doesn’t happen, Everton apparently still want Grealish back on loan, and a return to Aston Villa might also be an option.