Michael Owen claims he is 'sick to the stomach' after Jack Grealish was booed by Aston Villa fans and tells supporters to 'hang your heads in shame' in furious rant

Michael Owen has told the section of Aston Villa followers who booed Jack Grealish on Saturday to ‘hang your heads in shame’.

Grealish left the club for Manchester City for £100million in 2021 and over the weekend returned to Villa Park in a 2-1 defeat.

A chorus of boos rang out every time he had a touch and at full time the winger reacted by holding up three fingers to signify the Premier League titles he has won under Pep Guardiola.

Grealish joined Villa at the age of six and, barring a 2013-14 loan at Notts County, spent 19 years at the club he supports, helping them to win promotion and reach the final of both domestic cups across 213 appearances before breaking the British transfer record.

Owen said he felt ‘sick to the bottom of my stomach’ at the boos in an impassioned 711-word defence of the Englishman posted on X on Sunday. It is a fate he endured after leaving Liverpool during his own playing career.

‘I often hear or see things in football that makes my blood boil. Most people will probably feel the same at some point or other. I guess that’s quite natural when you care passionately about something, or in my case, when it’s something that has consumed your entire life.

Michael Owen told the section of Villa followers responsible to ‘hang your heads in shame’

‘The current capitulation of reigning champions Manchester City is enough of a story to fill back pages and jam radio stations up and down the country. But there was another story at Villa Park yesterday that genuinely left me feeling sick to the bottom of my stomach.

‘Of course, tarring a set of people with the same brush is not something I’m into. I’ve lived a life whereby myself and my teammates have been stereotyped and it’s pretty annoying. There will always be kind, honest, generous, respectful, caring people in all walks of life just as there will always be nasty, jealous, spiteful, bitter people too. Your job or where you’re from doesn’t necessarily make you fall into a certain category.

‘But to those Villa fans who booed Jack Grealish yesterday, you fall into the second category and should hang your heads in shame.

‘Here is a lad that came through YOUR academy. Supported The Villa all his life and no doubt still does. He single-handedly dragged YOUR team back into the Premier League when you were bang average at best. He kept you up and in hindsight, showed you ten times more loyalty than you are now showing him. He was hardly ever injured and delivered Man Of The Match performances on a regular basis. He cost you nothing, gave you incredible service and made YOUR club over £100m when he left.

‘I don’t know Jack; I’ve interviewed him a couple of times and that’s as far as it goes. I also don’t generally stick up for footballers purely because I was one myself. But Jack’s story is as near to perfect as it gets

‘He joined his local club and rose through the ranks from a six year old boy to Club captain. He has played over 200 games for the club and has stamped his mark as one of the best players to ever wear the famous claret and blue shirt.

‘After gaining promotion and as club captain, he undoubtedly did more than his fair share of turning his team into a respectable and established Premier League side which arguably formed the foundations for how the club is viewed today.

‘He then moved to one of the world’s best teams, one that has won absolutely everything and will go down in history as one of the greatest teams ever to set foot onto a football pitch. Who knows what will come next but Jack could retire tomorrow and will have had a career most footballers can only dream of.

Grealish was keen to remind those who had booed him from the Villa Park stands of his achievements with Manchester City

He spoke to the stewards after the final whistle after being targeted by fans throughout

It was no happy homecoming for the 29-year-old and he suffered a defeat with City

‘I’ve said it many times but I’ll say it again. Footballers are generally fans before they sign their first professional contract and when they retire they become fans once again. In between it’s a job!

‘Fans who don’t ever become footballers can happily declare their undying love for any particular team and that’s absolutely great.

‘Footballers on the other hand, have a limited time in the game and clearly want to be as successful as possible in that short time between first and last contracts.

‘It’s impossible for 99% of players to stay with their team throughout their careers because if they are good players the best teams will want to sign them and if they’re not good players they’ll be shown the exit door pretty swiftly.

‘When fans see their team going through a bad run, they all clamour for the club to buy new players. When a new player is signed, do fans of the new club call them Judas and boo them for leaving what could easily have been their boyhood club? Of course not; they sing their name and welcome them with open arms.

‘Why then is it so different when it’s the other way around?

‘In Jack’s case he is and always will be very proud of where he comes from and so it must be heartbreaking for him to have to endure the mindless and pathetic booing that he had to listen to yesterday.’

Grealish was part of the Catalan’s historic Treble-winning squad in 2023, adding to the list of his accolades, but has been struggling two seasons later.

Grealish is in the midst of a goalscoring drought at a difficult moment for the serial winners

Manager Pep Guardiola is overseeing the worst run of form of his career in the dugout

The England international has failed to score in club colours in his last 45 matches, and was unable to help his side turn around their lacklustre form on Saturday.

The hosts struck first on home soil, courtesy of an early goal from Jhon Duran inside the first 20 minutes, and were able to double their lead through Man City academy graduate Morgan Rogers in the second-half.

Hopes of the latest of turnarounds were sparked by Phil Foden two minutes into added time, but Guardiola’s side could not find an equaliser as they were condemned to their ninth defeat in their last 12 matches.

Grealish’s temper had flared earlier in the match when the 29-year-old was involved in a half-time altercation with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

As the game reached the halfway point, Grealish could be seen appearing to protest the lack of stoppage time in the first half.

Then, as both teams made their way off the pitch the England international could be seen exchanging words with his former team-mate Martinez.

Erling Haaland played peacemaker, getting between the two men as they remained animated on their way off the pitch.

The conversation continued down the tunnel and the Argentine was subsequently booked by referee Peter Bankes for his involvement in the incident.