'Lionel Messi Is The Best Ever, But Jack Grealish...'

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has claimed that Jack Grealish is better than both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, and likened the Englishman to FC Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi. 

Martinez has impressed since joining the Villans from Arsenal at the start of the season, and has enjoyed what he has seen from captain Grealish to date.

Asked in a recent interview how he would compare the England attacker to his former Gunners teammates Aubameyang and Ozil, Martinez responded by likening the 25-year-old to Messi.

"He (Grealish) is the most talented player I've ever seen," he told talkSPORT.

"I would put him ahead of them. He just never gets the ball away.

4) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – £200 000

20) Patrick Bamford (Leeds United) – £35 000

19) Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United) – £50 000

18) Pascal Gross (Brighton & Hove Albion) – £50 000

17) Ben Mee (Burnley) – £55 000

16) Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Fulham) – £67 000

15) Danny Ings (Southampton) – £75 000

14) Andy Carroll (Newcastle United) – £75 000

9) Jack Grealish (Aston Villa) – £135 000

13) Rui Patricio (Wolverhampton Wanderers) – £100 000

12) Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham United) – £115 000

11) Conor Townsend (West Bromwich Albion) – £115 000

8) James Rodriguez (Everton) – £140 000

10) Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) – £130 000

7) Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) – £140 000

6) Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) – £190 000

5) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – £200 000

3) Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – £269 000

2) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – £320 000

1) David de Gea (Manchester United) – £375 000

"Messi, is Messi – he's 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 and chop.

"Messi is the same. Nobody wants to touch him. He uses people like cones, and I see that with Jack here – that's why I compare them a little bit."

Grealish has scored seven goals and assisted a further 12 strikes in 22 matches across all competitions for Villa this season, and is among the leading attackers with regards to chance creation in the Premier League.

Related tags