Aston Villa boss responds to Grealish-Messi comparison

Grealish’s glowering profile received another boost this week in surprise comparison to Messi, but what does his manager think of it?

Jack Grealish is ‘very unique’ in his own way, says Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, who is pleased with how his star player has handled the Lionel Messi comparisons.

Villa teammate Emiliano Martinez got the ball rolling this week by claiming Grealish is ‘Messi with a right foot’. The goalkeeper also labeled him as ‘the most talented player’ he has seen in his career.

Such a comparison, of course, is impossible to ignore. Especially for somebody like Messi, who has dazzled the football world for over a decade with some mesmerizing displays for Barcelona.

But while Smith feels he can’t offer a serious verdict whether Grealish is like Messi, the manager is pleased with the 25-year-old’s attitude.

“Jack handles it very well and yes, he gets stick off the rest of the lads. But he also handles that very well and gives as good as he gets,” said Smith as quoted on Metro.

“There is not a person I can look at and say yes, Jack is like him. He is very unique in the way he plays. He handles the football well as everyone knows.

“I have always said his biggest strength is balance. With or without the ball people try and knock him off his feet and he has great balance when running with the ball. He is just turning out to be a really top player.

“I have only seen Messi in the flesh once. Certainly, Emi is in a better place to judge than I am. I am happy with what Jack is producing at the moment both on the pitch and off the pitch.”