Emiliano Martinez
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has likened his club teammate and captain Jack Grealish to his Argentina international teammate Lionel Messi.
“He’s the most talented player I’ve ever seen,” Martinez said about Grealish on TalkSPORT.
“He never gives the ball away. I catch a cross and I see Grealish running, I know it’s a shot on target or a corner – for not against!”
Messi is known for his speed, dribble, vision, shooting technique amidst several other attributes, qualities also pissed by Grealish.
“He will drive past two or three players, I just see Messi with a right foot! When he’s on the ball, you can’t get it off him.”
Grealish was overlooked for a call up to the Three Lions squad by Gareth Southgate before eventually earning his first cap last year, a decision that left Martinez surprised at what took it so long: “I think he’s the most talented English player and I’m surprised that he’s not played so many games for England.”
Grealish has been the most fouled player in England since he got back to the Premier League with Aston Villa last season and this ability to draw fouls is one of the reasons Martinez is drawing comparison between the two.
“Messi is Messi, the best ever. But, in terms of training, when Jack is on the ball people don’t want to tackle him, they respect him on the ball. He can finish, he can chop, he can do everything. Messi is the same.
“When I am in the national team and I train with Messi no one wants to touch him. He chops people, he uses people like cones and I see that with Jack here so that’s why I compare him a little bit.”
Aston Villa narrowly escaped relegation last season due to a technical fault with the Hawk Eye camera that failed to award a goal for Bournemouth in the 0-0 draw against Sheffield.
They have taken the league in their strides this season and don’t look like a team that battled relegation last season. The acquisition of Martinez from Arsenal has helped further boost their chances of European football next season.