Jack Grealish has opened up about his friendship with Erling Haaland at Manchester City 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.
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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:
"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 was his seventh in the league this season, making him City's joint second-biggest creator behind Kevin De Bruyne.
The former Aston Villa man has also found the net five times himself, most recently in last month's 4-1 victory away to Southampton.
