Fresh details have emerged over what was said during a fiery exchange between Emiliano Martinez and Jack Grealish in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
Villa mounted more misery on City, who are in the midst of their worst run of form under Pep Guardiola, by inflicting a ninth defeat in 12 matches on the champions.
Guardiola handed Grealish a first start at Villa Park since he left his boyhood club in 2021 for £100million, in a bid to shake things up.
However, the winger endured a nightmare return to his former home with Villa opening the scoring after just 16 minutes through striker Jhon Duran.
As the game approached the interval, Grealish could be seen appearing to protest the lack of stoppage time in the first half.
The ex-Villa star could then be seen engaged in a heated discussion with his former team-mate Martinez as they made their way down the tunnel following the half-time whistle at Villa Park.
Jack Grealish (left) was involved in a fiery exchange with Emiliano Martinez (right) during Man City’s clash with Aston Villa
Martinez shout at his former team-mate ‘You think you’re a big boy now, huh?’ as they went down the tunnel
Emi Martinez to Jack Grealish:“You think you’re a big boy?” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/uPuOVWLPWF
— Soccer Forever (@soccerforeverhq) December 23, 2024
In a video that appeared on X, footage of the pair exchanging a barrage of words, while being seperated by staff and team-mates, has now come to light.
Shouting toward Grealish, Martinez appears to say: ‘You think you’re a big boy, huh?’
The Argentine goalkeeper was subsequently booked by referee Peter Bankes for his involvement in the incident.
The altercation proved to be the tip of the iceberg in what was a tough afternoon back in his home city for Grealish.
A chorus of boos rang out every time he had a touch and at full time the winger reacted by holding up three fingers to signify the Premier League titles since his departure from the club.
Grealish joined Villa at the age of six and, barring a 2013-14 loan at Notts County, spent 19 years at the club he supports, helping them to win promotion and reach the final of both domestic cups across 213 appearances before breaking the British transfer record.
Michael Owen has since come out in the defence of Grealish, telling the section of Villa followers who booed him to ‘hang your heads in shame’.
The former Liverpool striker said he felt ‘sick to the bottom of my stomach’ at the boos in an impassioned 711-word defence of the Englishman posted on X on Sunday. It is a fate he endured after leaving Liverpool during his own playing career.
The former team-mates heated exchange boiled over from the pitch to the tunnel following the half time whistle
The Argentinian goalkeeper was subsequently booked for his involvement in the incident
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