08 June 2023 , 19:04
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The WAGs of Manchester City ’s high-flying stars are travelling to tomorrow’s Champions League final in style after club owner Sheikh Mansour laid on a luxury jet.
His stars’ families and pals will take the private flight to Istanbul after City’s squad flew to the Turkish city yesterday ahead of their clash with Inter Milan.
A win would land the Blues the treble – matching the 1999 triumph of bitter local rivals Manchester United.
A handful of players have booked private jets for loved ones but most WAGs and friends will be on the Emirati royal’s plane – including Jack Grealish ’s parents, siblings and pal Ollie Priestley.
Relatives of Kyle Walker, John Stones and other first-teamers are also expected on board. A source said: “Jack and the others like the idea of the families being together. They’re staying in a hotel close to the team’s official one.”
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Jack with mum Karen (Collect Unknown)Midfielder Grealish is a nailed-on starter for manager Pep Guardiola’s side in what will be the biggest match of his career – and a childhood dream.
The 27-year-old, who has been with model Sasha Atwood, also 27, for nearly a decade, will be cheered on in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium by mum Karen, dad Kevin and siblings Kevan, Kiera and Holly.
He told of his special bond with Karen after City’s 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final, saying: “I had a text from my mum before the game saying, ‘These are the nights you dreamed of as a kid’. Everyone in the world was watching. Sometimes you pinch yourself.”
A source said: “Jack wants all his family and mates there on Saturday. It doesn’t get much bigger than the Champions League final. This is what his boyhood dreams were about.”
Erling Haaland with girlfriend Isabel Johansen (Getty Images)Victory tomorrow would cap an incredible journey for Grealish, who was an Aston Villa fan from birth – with his dad taking him to matches as toddler.
By six, he was a Sunday league player for Highgate United in Solihull, West Mids. Last year, the Mirror revealed his career was almost cut short when the club faced folding until a £200 shirt sponsorship from second-hand car dealer Martin Smallbone saved it.
Weeks later, an Aston Villa scout spotted Jack and after joining its academy he worked his way up to first-team captain. Then, in 2021, City paid £100million to net him.
The rest, as they say, is history. And tomorrow, he hopes to write another very special chapter.