Pep Guardiola invested absolutely everything when Manchester City became the first British outfit to break the PS100million barrier to sign Jack Grealish - and not solely in financial terms.

The staggering price tag - which has been matched by three Premier League players since that 2021 transfer - has regularly been held up against Grealish directly as a barometer for performance levels. But while the sizable cheque signed over for his signature was jaw-dropping, any criticism on his part is missing the point.

Aston Villa would not have sold had the champions not activated his release clause. Beyond his or, perhaps, any player's market value, it spoke volumes about what boyhood club Villa knew they had at their disposal and what City wanted to get their hands on.

Around that same time, City were desperate for a striker. However, a pursuit for Harry Kane was side-stepped and Guardiola - mindful of what was going on at former club Barcelona - thought Lionel Messi to be a step too far as he eventually moved to PSG from Camp Nou.

Something for City supporters to dream about in a parallel universe. It turned out pretty well on the striker front, too, when Erling Haaland pitched up at the Etihad Stadium around 12 months later to spearhead City to a historic treble win with an astonishing 52 goals in his 53 matches.

Haaland naturally grabbed most on-field headlines in that success, while Grealish took centre stage in the iconic celebrations that followed. But while the floppy-haired playmaker became a poster boy for those brilliant scenes which toasted City upon matching their neighbours, his impact was not limited to charging down the mixed zone at the Ataturk Stadium with boom box in hand or getting through the bottles on that bus parade!

Far from it, in fact. It was a long and winding road for Grealish, but Guardiola knew he would get there.

"He will have the number 10 shirt because we were incredibly convinced with Jack and were convinced that Leo would continue with Barcelona," said the Catalan after sanctioning a move for the ever-popular England star. "We believed Jack would be perfect for us.

"For the age, for the quality, he will be an incredible player for the next five or six years. He's got mates here who know him and we'll create the right environment for him to express his talent.

"We believe we've got an incredible talent and not just with the skills, but the mentality. He made an exceptional contribution at Aston Villa and he can get to another level with us."

Grealish did get to that next level and so did City with him in their star-studded side. Initially taking 18 months to settle, the 28-year-old England regular eventually won his manager's unwavering trust to start in both the FA Cup and Champions League showpieces as City went all the way in all three major competitions.

A new challenge has arisen for Grealish with summer signing Jeremy Doku impressing since his PS55.5million move from Stade Rennais. His main competitor for the left-wing position - Grealish - has only started two matches since August owing in part to that emergence and an injury setback in the same period.

But while Doku offers things Grealish never can, Guardiola, too, has to remember his PS100million player also has his very own unique skills to bring to the party that led to City signing the England international ahead of even Messi. He might now just have to show it for a second time.