Matheus Martinelli, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Felipe Melo were all part of a fight at the end of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final between Manchester City and Fluminense in Saudi Arabia.
Pep Guardiola’s team got a comfortable 4-0 win to close out a marvelous run of five titles which also included the UEFA Super Cup and, of course, this historic treble: Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
Considering the result, it was a big surprise that, just minutes before the trophy ceremony, Felipe Melo and Kyle Walker appeared pushing each other on the TV broadcast.
In the post-game interviews, the players of the Brazilian team explained that the cause of the fight was Jack Grealish mocking them during the final. Now, a massive controversy is under way.
Kyle Walker and Felipe Melo got in a fight in FIFA Club World Cup final (Getty Images)
Matheus Martinelli blames Jack Grealish for fight in FIFA Club World Cup final
At the end of the game, Matheus Martinelli confirmed Jack Grealish was the cause fo the fight at Jeddah. The Brazilian player criticized the arrogant attitude of his rival.
“Grealish was very disrespectful. Arrogant as hell. I didn’t understand what he said. Everything was in English. I also told him, ‘Go to hell’, because he was talking aggressively to me. Why did he come to tease me? And he was disrespectful during the game. A bad sportsman, that is all he is. That’s soccer, and life goes on.”
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Felipe Melo stated that Grealish mocked the player of Fluminense by chanting ‘Ole’ to mock them in the final minutes. That chant often comes from fans to upset the opposing team.
“When the game ended, Grealish went after Martinelli. He chose a little guy. He was passing close to Martinelli and I saw them talking, forehead to forehead, so I went after him. I pushed him. Walker pushed me, too. I went to defend a teammate. I also defended my institution. I will do this forever. No one will disrespect my institution or its athletes. No one will come and humiliate my friends or my club.”
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Jack Grealish has an answer for Felipe Melo
Felipe Melo also explained with details how Jack Grealish was disrespectful to them. “Today, Grealish was disrespectful towards the Fluminense team and I’ll never let that happen. He was shouting ‘olé’ during the game. This is for the fans, they can shout ‘olé’. The athlete on the field cannot be disrespectful.”
When Grealish saw that statement, he immediately went to his offical account on X to clarify the situation. “Not once did I say ole.”
