Jack Grealish mocked by Man City boss Pep Guardiola after making drastic pre-season change

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola brutally mocked Jack Grealish during a quick-thinking training exercise.

Grealish and his City team-mates are currently in the United States as part of their pre-season preparations.

The reigning Premier League champions fell to a surprise 4-3 defeat against Celtic in the first game of their US tour.

And it was ahead of the match-up against the Scottish giants when Grealish felt the full wrath of Guardiola’s wittiness.

As part of the mentally stimulating training game, the City players were tasked with clapping their hands every time Guardiola – who was stood in the middle of a circle – bounced his ball.

But if a player clapped their hands too early they’d be dumped out of the game.

Much to the surprise of his fellow City stars, as well as manager Guardiola, Grealish kept his cool and reached the latter stages of the contest.

Shocked by the attacker’s resilience, Guardiola jokingly said during a behind-scenes clip released by City: “Jack… you are here!”

Grealish responded immediately, commenting: “Brainy”. A pat on the back for his sharp thinking during the game.

But his riposte didn’t stop Guardiola from hitting back once again, with the Catalan adding: “I didn’t expect [you to make it this far].”

Guardiola’s preconceptions would be proved right just moments later when Grealish clapped his hands too early, meaning he missed out on glory in the mini-training exercise.

It comes ahead of a big campaign for Grealish, whose stop-start 2023/24 season saw him left out of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.

Dismayed by the decision, Grealish appears to have knuckled down in the off-season, with reports he’s ditched the party life in an attempt to work his way back into the City and England starting XI.

It’s claimed Grealish spent the summer putting in the extra yards on the training pitch, as opposed to his usual party-led antics in pre-season.

Grealish also announced he and his long-term partner, Sasha Attwood, are expecting their first baby together, with the £100million star appearing to embrace the life-changing reality of what parenthood will bring.

Instead of snaps taken from party islands in Europe or late nights staggering around Las Vegas, Grealish’s summer break this year consisted of a quaint pool-side getaway with friends and family.

The ex-Aston Villa man will once again have the chance to impress Guardiola, this time with a ball at his feet, when City take on AC Milan in their next pre-season friendly this weekend.

Following that, just two more pre-season outings remain before the Blues return to Wembley for a Community Shield match-up against rivals Manchester United.