I’m footballer but I’m also human and we all make mistakes, admits Jack Grealish
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has opened over the mistake he made during the lockdown in the UK, where the footballer was photographed breaking the lockdown rules. The England international has expressed remorse over what he did and even admitted that he knew what he did was wrong.
While many Aston Villa fans were pleased to see their club back in the top flight, others were more excited to see their captain Jack Grealish play in the Premier League again. The 24-year-old had slowly but steadily improved in the Championship into an impressive midfielder with his prowess on show this season. Not only that, at times it has felt like Grealish has been the one almost singlehandedly leading a fight against relegation for Villa.
That has seen the midfielder turn into a role-model but the 24-year-old was caught breaking lockdown laws in the UK after he collided with parked cars and was photographed doing as much. It saw him charged by the West Midlands Police but Grealish admitted that he knows what he did was wrong but that as a role model what he did was not right. But the midfielder also added that he's tried to change and act in a respectable manner since.
"I knew straight away that I had to come out and apologise myself, which I wanted to do; I didn’t want to hide behind a club statement. I am old enough now and mature enough to know that I’d done wrong. I know I am a footballer but I’m still human and we all make mistakes and straight away I knew I’d made a mistake,” Grealish told the Guardian.
"I’m also a role model as well to a lot of people out there, especially young children who might look up to me. So I try to act in a respectable manner but since then I have tried to keep my head down, work hard and do as much charitable work as possible.”
The Birmingham based club has struggled immensely this season with injuries hurting their campaign against relegation more than a lack of performances from anyone other than Grealish. It has seen them lose midfielder John McGinn, striker Wesley Morales and goalkeeper Tom Heaton among others but Grealish admitted that the club are going to fight for Dean Smith and his family. The Villa boss’ father passed away after contracting the coronavirus last week and Grealish added that it has affected everyone at the club.
“One good thing about football when you are having a problem away off the pitch, when you do come into training or play a match, it takes your mind off everything else. It certainly does for me. That’s what we tried to do for the manager. I’m sure we all want to avoid relegation even more now, for the Smith family,” he added.