Grealish won several major honours with City but only in 2022-23 did he take games by the scruff of the neck like he had at Villa

The 29-year-old England international was deemed to be surplus to requirements by Pep Guardiola by the end of the 2024–25 domestic campaign and was left at home for the Club World Cup. City were reportedly prepared to accept bids as low as £40 million ($54.1 million) for the club-record £100 million recruit, yet no suitors were forthcoming.

Grealish inked a six-year contract with City back in 2021, his £100m fee amortised over those six years, before amortisation was capped at five years by the Premier League and UEFA, working out at £16.7m per year, not including his reported £15m per year in wages.