Gabby Agbonlahor has demanded everybody – but especially Leeds fans – who laughed at his Jack Grealish/Andres Iniesta comparison send him an apology.
Why? Because Jose Mourinho compared the England and Aston Villa star to Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo as he joined talkSPORT for his in-studio debut, and nobody so much as batted an eyelid.
Getty
Grealish is expected to make a huge impact for England at Euro 2020 this summer, starting with their opening game against Croatia on Sunday – LIVE on talkSPORT.
Reports claim he could be benched for the opener, but Mourinho described the Villa captain as ‘untouchable’ on the left wing in England’s starting line-up, and Villa Park hero Agbonlahor agreed the attacker MUST start at Wembley.
Mourinho then went one further by saying Grealish reminds him of one of the best players he has ever coached, Portugal legend Figo.
“Grealish, for me, is tremendous and what he creates and his personality – ‘give me the ball’ – he reminds me a little bit of Luis Figo,” the Special One said on Friday’s talkSPORT Breakfast.
“I don’t like making comparisons, especially with a Golden Ball winner, but Grealish reminds me of my Figo.
talkSPORT
getty images
“Figo, I had him in different periods in my career but I had him in his last season as a player at Inter Milan and even in his last season he was like, ‘give me the ball and I will resolve the problems for you’.
“The way Grealish gets the ball and attacks people, gets fouls, gets penalties, he’s very powerful, I like him very much.”
Few argued with Mourinho’s verdict. What are we to argue with a manager who has won everything there is to win at club level?
But Agbonlahor? Well, it’s fair to say the reaction to his Iniesta comparison back in September 2020 was met with, quite frankly, contempt.
“I’ve played with some great players but for natural ability I’ve got to say Jack Grealish [is the best],” Agbonlahor said.
Getty Images - Getty
“I know that will upset a few players I’ve played with but for me I’ve seen nothing like him. Even in training. The quickest players, the best defenders, he will run past you like you’re not there.
“It’s the movement of the body and he’s gone. A little bit of acceleration when he’s running with the ball and he’s gone.
“He reminds me a bit of, I know it’s a big statement, Iniesta in his prime. He’s just skipping past you and running past you. That’s Jack for you.”
At the time it seemed no more than an outlandish overly biased view from the former Villa skipper, as even fellow talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara replied: “Gabby, you need a temperature check pal.”
But now, even the most indifferent of rival supporters would be forced to admit Grealish’s quality is undoubtable.
And Gabby now wants an apology!
talkSPORT
“I think I deserve an apology, yeah,” he said on The Sports Bar. “All those people out there piped up and they were giving me all sorts.
“Now you’ve heard it from one of the best managers ever to manage football, Mourinho has compared Jack to a certain Luis Figo. Grealish, the way he plays, the way he moves, the way he plays the game is like Iniesta too.
“That’s how good he is, and I’m glad a top manager can see that, but the people who have got trigger fingers on Twitter, they can’t see it.
“So, for me, definitely the way Mourinho explained it there, you can just tell, everybody’s going to start seeing it more now.
AFP
“For me he’s got nothing to prove in the way he’s played over the last few seasons, but you’ll see it more in this tournament. He won’t be fazed that he’s playing in the Euros, he won’t get nervous, he’ll thrive off the fact he’s wearing that number seven and he’ll go out there and put in performances and everyone will see even more about these comparisons.
“To hear that from Mourinho put a smile on my face, and maybe now other ex-managers and pundits will compare him to another great player!
“So, I’d like apologies by direct message please. I’ll clear some messages so there’s loads of room and I want an apology that Gabby got it right!”
Sports Bar host Adam Catterall added: “If you laughed at Gabby’s comparison between Grealish and Iniesta, just DM him now and say ‘Gabby knows more than me’.”
“That’s all I want,” Agbonlahor replied. “Any fans, Leeds fans, just get it in there!”
from Football - news, transfers, fixtures, scores, pictures https://ift.tt/3vmJdK1
via IFTTT
No Comment