23 December 2023 , 00:00
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Manchester City star Jack Grealish denied claims from Fluminense star Felipe Melo that he disrespected the Brazilian side during the Club World Cup final.
Grealish was part of the City team which cruised to a 4-0 victory over the South American champions in Jeddah. Julian Alvarez scored twice for the Champions League holders, including in the opening minute, with a Nino own goal and a Phil Foden effort rounding off the scoring.
After the final whistle, Melo and CIty defender Kyle Walker were involved in a bust-up on the pitch as tempers flared. Walker had to be pulled away from the 40-year-old by his team-mates, with no clarity at the time regarding what prompted the scenes, and Grealish has moved to rubbish the Brazil international's take on events.
"Today [Jack] Grealish was disrespectful towards the Fluminense team and I'll never let that happen," Melo is quoted as saying. "He was shouting 'olé' during the game.
"This is for the fans, they can shout 'olé'. The athlete on the field cannot be disrespectful..."
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Sharing those comments, though, Grealish wanted to set the record straight. "Not once did I say ole," the former Aston Villa man said.
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Kyle Walker had to be pulled away from Felipe Melo (Getty Images)City boss Pep Guardiola hailed his team after their victory and insisted there's more to come from the all-conquering side. Despite their success in Saudi Arabia and in their Champions League group, the reigning champions are off the pace in the Premier League title race.
“Then we will buy a new book and start to write beautiful histories," the former Bayern Munich boss said. "The players out there are still hungry and motivated. I’m really pleased for many people who have been in the club for many years.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful day, I could never think when we arrived in Manchester we could do this and finish with the World Cup. When I close the chapter, this is for eight years of incredible work behind the scenes. All the titles you can win - and we have done it.”
“We won’t do a parade, but I said this trophy you will remember forever," he added. "It means you are the best team in one year in the world. It’s unique and special, it’s really cool.
“We were aggressive and scored early on, which helped us a lot. They had 15 minutes they were incredibly good. In the second half we adjusted something and it was much better. I am very pleased. I had a feeling we would close the chapter.”