Aston Villa icon looks unrecognisable as Jack Grealish posts Instagram message
Jack Grealish admitted he was left starstruck after bumping into Aston Villa legend Olof Mellberg, who is now unrecognisable from his playing days
Jack Grealish says he was left starstruck after bumping into a barely recognisable Olof Mellberg. Despite now playing under the legendary Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and sharing a dressing room with football greats like Kevin De Bruyne, it seems an encounter with ex-Aston Villa defender Mellberg made a significant impression on him.
The lifelong Villa supporter seized the moment to capture the meeting on Instagram. With his arm around Mellberg for the photo, Grealish pointed enthusiastically at the Swede, a broad grin spread across his face.
Next to the image of the pair, the City midfielder wrote: "Not many people that I get starstruck over, but this guy is one! Big Olof Mellberg. One of my boyhood heroes."
Now sporting a different look from his Villa Park days, the 47-year-old, with tousled hair and a bushy, greying beard, appeared equally pleased to see Grealish.
Mellberg signed for Villa from Racing Santander in 2001 for a fee around £5million. It proved to be money well spent as the hard-tackling icon spent seven seasons with the club.
He clocked up 263 appearances, scored eight goals and even captained Villa for several seasons. He also helped the club win the Intertoto Cup in 2001.
In 2008, Mellberg moved to Juventus, where he stayed for a year before switching to Greek side Olympiacos for three seasons. Short stints at Villareal and Copenhagen followed, before he retired in 2014.
Having turned to management, he took the reins of Swedish outfits IF Brommapojkarna and Helsingborg, as well as Norway's Fremad Amager. His latest venture led him stateside with St. Louis City SC, but his tenure was cut short as he was shown the door after a solitary season in MLS.
Grealish, who made an eye-watering £100m switch from Villa to Manchester City in 2021, is now on the periphery at the Etihad following four years with the club. After spending much of this season warming the bench, speculation is rife about where he will land next.
The 29-year-old has been linked with Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham. A return to Villa Park continues to be whispered about, though it appears off the cards for the moment.
Speaking towards the end of the season, Guardiola also hinted that Grealish's future could lie away from Eastlands. "Of course, Jack has to play," Guardiola said.
"He's an unbelievable player that has to play football every three days. It didn't happen this season and last season either. He needs to do it, and that's with us, or another place. And that's a question for Jack, his agent, and the club."
Grealish will set to miss out on the Club World Cup this summer, with his main priority being to find a new club ahead of the 2025/26 season and the World Cup next summer, if he still has realistic ambitions of playing for England at the tournament.
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