'Harder than I thought' - Grealish makes honest assessment of first Man City season

Jack Grealish says his first season at Manchester City was more difficult than he expected after winning the Premier League title on Sunday.

Grealish joined City from Aston Villa last year in a deal worth £100 million ($139m), and a 3-2 victory over his former club secured the title for Pep Guardiola's side.

The England international was accused of failing to live up to expectations at City after making the big-money move.

What has Grealish said about his first season at Man City?

The 26-year-old said that his maiden season at the club was more of a challenge than he first expected.

Asked for his thoughts on the campaign, Grealish told Sky Sports: "Harder than I thought.

"It's more difficult than I thought, but I've enjoyed every minute of it.

"I stepped out of my comfort zone to come here. New changing room, new surroundings, new team-mates and everything. It's been difficult, harder than I thought but this today makes up for it. It really does."

What next for Grealish and Man City?

Grealish contributed three goals and three assists as his side secured the Premier League title.

They beat Grealish's former team Aston Villa 3-2 in the final game of the season to ensure they won the trophy for a second time in a row.

The English giants hope to continue to dominate the domestic game and go on to win the Champions League for the first time and Grealish hopes he plays a more important role as time goes on.

He added: "I can kick on so much more, I know it myself how much of a role I must play at this club."

Speaking of his team's success this season, he said: "Honestly, it's unbelievable.

"After the third goal went in, I ran on the pitch and obviously we were all celebrating. After that I just went straight down the tunnel, I was crying my eyes out.

"When you're a kid all you want to do is play in the Premier League. Once you do that, play in the Premier League, the next thing you want to do is win the Premier League. I can't put it into words.

"We knew how good of a side [Aston Villa] were, they've shown it today, but we know with our quality that we can beat anyone and we proved that in the last 20 minutes.

"I was crying my eyes out.

"When I signed here, people would ask me: 'what do you want to win, the Champions League or the Premier League?' For me, I'd never won it so it was always the Premier League and I'm so happy."