Jack Grealish admits he 'fell out of love' with football in final seasons with Manchester City after registering two assists on full Everton debut

Everton v Brighton & Hove Albion - Premier League

Jack Grealish says he "didn't enjoy football as much" towards the tail end of his time with Manchester City following his loan move to Everton.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Grealish bagged two assists in Everton's 2-0 win over Brighton on Sunday in their first competitive game at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Following his full debut for the Toffees, the 29-year-old said he "fell out of love" with football, before qualifying that he didn't enjoy it as much in recent seasons at City.

Everton v Brighton & Hove Albion - Premier League

WHAT GREALISH SAID

He said as quoted by MEN: "For me, I wanted to come here, and the main thing was to enjoy football, you know, enjoying playing every day. And I think maybe at times in the last couple of years, I’ve fallen out of love – not fallen out of love, but just didn’t enjoy football as much as I should. My family said to me at times when I was at home and stuff. That’s down to no one else; it’s down to myself. But yeah, I absolutely love football, and I want to have that feeling again, when you wake up on a match day and you just can’t wait to get out there. That’s how I felt today and hopefully my performance showed that."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Last season, Grealish started just seven Premier League games for City as he fell down the pecking order at the Etihad. The England international looks a shadow of the player he was in 2021 when City paid £100 million ($135m) for his services. But he may be able to reignite his career at Everton if he gets regular minutes during this loan spell.

Everton v Brighton & Hove Albion - Premier League

WHAT NEXT?

Former Aston Villa star Grealish, who has two years left on his City deal, could be in for a busy few days this week as Everton take on Mansfield Town in round two of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, followed by a trip to Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.