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Jack Grealish has opened up about his friendship with Erling Haaland at Manchester City (opens in new tab) and described what it’s like to play with ‘the best professional he’s ever seen’.
After a difficult first season or so at City, Grealish has shone for Pep Guardiola’s side since the 2022 World Cup, playing a starring role in their surge toward the Premier League summit this term – and what looks like being a third straight title.
And 2022/23 has also seen the England star enjoy what must be an extraordinarily unique experience: playing in the same team as the most prolific striker the Premier League has ever seen.
In an interview with MailOnline, Grealish gave some insight into his relationship with Haaland – who he assisted earlier this week to break the record for most goals in a Premier League campaign (35) – as well as some key differences between the pair. The 27-year-old said (opens in new tab):
“Everyone is different, aren’t they? Look at Erling: he is the best professional I have ever seen. His mindset is something you won’t see again. He does everything. Recovers. In the gym. Ten hours of treatment a day. Ice baths. Diet. That’s why he is what he is. But I swear I couldn’t be like that.
“We have a great friendship, but he will point at me after a game and say, “Hey, don’t you go out tonight partying”. I just tell him to shut up and go and sit in his ice bath. But that’s us: two different people doing well in our own way.
“I am not as successful as him. He has scored more goals this season than I have in my whole career – but if he did what I occasionally did, he would be like, ‘F***ing hell, I feel terrible today’.”
Grealish’s assist for Haaland in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over West Ham (opens in new tab) was his seventh in the league this season, making him City’s joint second-biggest creator behind Kevin De Bruyne.
The former Aston Villa (opens in new tab) man has also found the net five times himself, most recently in last month’s 4-1 victory away to Southampton (opens in new tab).
