English football’s £100 million man Jack Grealish knows how Lionel Messi feels after saying his own tearful farewell to Aston Villa.

Messi shed tears as he confirmed his departure from boyhood club Barcelona on Sunday.

Grealish said: “Everyone has seen the way Messi was at his final press conference… That is the exact way I felt myself. Actually before I left at the hotel, I spoke to the team and the staff and the players and, yeah, you know I teared up a bit myself.”

Grealish, an Aston Villa season ticket holder from the age of four, signed a six-year contract with Manchester City and has been assigned the No.10 shirt previously worn by all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero.

The 25-year-old midfielder explained that he had joined the Premier League champions to win trophies.

“I’ve always said how much I wanted to play Champions League football and I couldn’t do that at Villa this year,” he said.