Jack Grealish has revealed his first footballing idol and it's a huge surprise

Jack Grealish revealed his football idol and it's a real blast from the past.

Despite having plied his trade with Manchester City for the past two-and-a-half seasons Grealish will always be synonymous with Aston Villa.

After coming through the ranks at the Birmingham side, Grealish went on to make 213 appearances for the club, scoring 32 and claiming 43 assists before sealing a £100million move to City.

And naturally, as a boyhood Villa fan, Grealish’s football idol is Juan Pablo Angel.

The City star revealed his love for the Angel in an Instagram story depicting himself arm in arm with the 47-year-old.

Grealish captioned the picture: “My first ever hero. If you know then you know.

“There’s only one Juan Pablo Angel.”

Angel joined Villa from Argentinian outfit River Plate for a £7million fee in May 2001, and the Colombian went on to become a Holte End favourite.

Despite initially struggling to adapt to life in England, scoring only once in his opening campaign there, the forward eventually settled.

Indeed, Angel ultimately netted 62 goals over a six-and-a-half-year spell with Villa, with the highlight of his stay coming in the 2003-04 season under David O’Leary, as the club finished sixth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Angel left Villa Park in April 2007, heading to the United States where he played for New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.

On the pitch City got back to winning ways on Saturday, claiming a 2-1 victory over Roberto de Zerbi's Brighton courtesy of goals from Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.

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