Jack Grealish once revealed what line of profession he would have gone down if football hadn't worked out.
The 27-year-old Manchester City forward, who recently lifted the Champions League trophy with Pep Guardiola's treble-winners, joined Aston Villa when he was just six-years-old from local side Highgate United.
He graduated through the club's youth system before spending the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Notts County. He then made his Villa debut in May 2014, when he came on as an 88th minute substitute against his next club.
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After making over 200 appearances for his boyhood club, the Birmingham-born forward joined current Premier League champions City for a British record £100 million in August 2021.
So what would Grealish be doing if he wasn't a professional footballer? In an interview with The Guardian in 2021, he was asked that exact question.
"If I wasn't a footballer and I was just with my mates, I would just be doing what they're doing," he began.
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"I'd be travelling everywhere watching England, being in pubs and stuff. I think I'd be at BoxPark. I've seen a few videos of that and it looked unreal.
"I'm just a normal kid and, as I've grown up [in football], that's probably one of the hardest things.
"I speak to my family about it all the time because when I go out and do stuff and I look at what my friends are doing... I'd love to be like that sometimes and just go and do stuff."
Grealish added: "Of course, I've made mistakes. When I first came on the scene, no one knew me and I could do anything I wanted to and then, playing in the FA Cup semi-final and final for Villa [as a 19-year-old in 2015]... everyone knew who I was.
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"It was difficult to deal with but I have matured so much. Deep down, I am still the same Jack. I will never not be that person."
Then, when asked what line of profession he would have gone down if football hadn't worked out, he replied: "I couldn't be a plasterer," before adding: "I'd be a club promoter. Tenerife or Ibiza. I would be getting everyone into the club."
So there we have it. Grealish might have been wandering the streets of Spain as a club promoter this summer if his career in professional football didn't materialise.
Last month, Erling Haaland revealed the two jobs he would be doing if he wasn’t a footballer.
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In an interview with Sky Sports, he said his best friend in football was Jack Grealish before describing Kevin De Bruyne as the greatest player he’d shared a pitch with.
He then suggested he would be either be a “welder or a farmer" in a different life.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy - Instagram/jackgrealishTopics: Jack Grealish, Manchester City, Premier League, Aston Villa, Champions League
