11 fun facts about Jack Grealish

Grealish is of Irish descent, through his maternal grandfather from County Dublin, his paternal grandfather from Gort, County Galway, and his paternal grandmother from Sneem, County Kerry. Grealish, who has Irish grandparents and was eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland, played Gaelic Football in his youth.

In 2012, he scored a point for Warwickshire GAA at Croke Park – the home of the GAA – in an exhibition match at half-time during an All-Ireland quarter-final.

The playmaker isn’t the only footballer in his family. His great-great-grandfather, Billy Garraty, won one cap for England and lifted the 1905 FA Cup with Villa.

Grealish is the eldest of five siblings. In order from oldest to youngest they are Jack, Kevan, Keelan, Kiera and Hollie. Unfortunately Keelan died of sudden infant death syndrome in 2000 at just nine months old and his sister Hollie was born with cerebral palsy. Grealish is very supportive of her sister and takes care of his siblings.

The midfielder was the inspiration behind a song from London-based rappers, The Manor, who released their aptly named ‘Grealish’ track ahead of EURO 2020. Two of the group are Arsenal fans and felt compelled to pen a tribute to the England international after a particularly impressive performance against the Gunners during 2020-21 season.

The lyrics include: Jack Grealish, king of the freemen, man of the match throw a party in the evening, and the man himself is said to be a big fan.

Following his strong performances during the 2019-20 season where he finished as the club's leading goalscorer with eight goals in the Premier League and 10 in all competitions, Grealish was voted Aston Villa's player of the season in the 2019-20 season.

He was voted the young player of the season in the 2014-15 season after breaking through in the first team.

Grealish's performances with Villa made a lot of noise and garnered the attention from multiple top clubs. In 2021, Grealish eventually signed for Manchester City in a transfer deal worth £100 million, making him the most expensive English player ever.

After securing a move to City, Grealish got to link up with a player he has huge admiration for. The England international revealed he is a big fan of Kevin De Bruyne in an interview in March 2021, when he said: “De Bruyne is my favourite player. He is probably the most perfect footballer in the Premier League.”

Tiny shinpads and low socks have become a Grealish trademark ever since he became a Premier League starter. There have been plenty of stories as to why he wears them that way, but the midfielder set the record straight in his first interview with Man City's official website.

"When I was 15, I was playing for the Under-18s and that year we were sponsored by Macron and the socks kept shrinking. I wasn’t a first-team player so you couldn’t ask for new socks every day so I kept wearing them," he said.

"They wouldn’t come over my calves within about two months into the season and that season I probably had my season where I took off and started kicking off. I started wearing them in games and thought I am going to keep this."

Grealish loves to listen to music and has a particular fondness for the music of yesteryear, with Elvis and Queen as two of his favourites artists of all time.

The Birmingham player is highly superstitious and believes in traditions while playing football. In 2019 Grealish led Aston Villa to Premier League promotion wearing a pair of old torn boots only because he felt that they were lucky for him. He said that he had scored a few goals and assists with that and he felt good about it.

Apart from his excellent qualities on the pitch, Grealish has earned slight rep for being naughty. In March 2020, Grealish was found to have violated government guidance to stay at home in relation to COVID-19 regulations and was fined by Aston Villa.

The Englishman was banned from driving for nine months in the UK and fined £82,499 after pleading guilty to two counts of careless driving in March and October 2020, one in which he was filmed colliding with several parked cars during a turn in the road.

On 10 March 2019, Grealish was assaulted by a pitch invader during the derby match away to Birmingham City. He scored the goal to give Villa a 1–0 victory later in that game. A 27-year-old man from Rubery was arrested and later pleaded guilty to the offences and was sent to prison for 14 weeks.

Grealish later captained his side and led them to the Premier League.