England star Jack Grealish, who scored during his first appearance in this year’s World Cup, has revealed that his sister Hollie is his ‘best friend’.
Grealish shares a close bond with his 19-year-old sister who has cerebral palsy, and has admitted that she’s incredibly proud of him. You can see him talking about her here:
And it’s not just Hollie who is super proud of the 27-year-old - Grealish revealed his whole family is and that they’re not shy about showing it.
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Opening up about his family during an interview with BBC Sport, Grealish said: “My little brother passed away when I was young.
“My little sister has cerebral palsy, so she, you know, she’s like my best friend. I speak to her all the time.”
When told that Hollie must be ‘so proud’ of her big brother, he said: “She is. She’ll live with my mum forever, so my mum was always looking after the kids, whereas my dad would take me and my brother to Villa Park on a Saturday.
“On the Sunday he’d just drive me then to wherever it was, wherever I was playing. And not everyone’s parents did that and he’s so proud of me - and he ain’t, like, shy of saying it, he’s always tells me and stuff how proud he is of me.”
Earlier today, fans watched as Grealish scored against Iran in the team’s 6-2 victory, after which he did a rather unusual celebration - with a special meaning.
After scoring, Grealish waved his arms by his sides in a slightly-silly looking move - but it was all part of a promise he’d kept to a young boy, who also has cerebral palsy.
Speaking after the match, Grealish told the BBC: "I met young Finlay about a month ago, and yeah, got on obviously really well with him.
"Him obviously having cerebral palsy like my little sister as well, so you know, he asked me to do a celebration for him - and luckily for him it came at the World Cup."
He added: "For me, it's just doing a celebration, but for for him that will mean the world to him I'm sure, especially me doing it at the World Cup - so Finlay, that one's for you."
In another post-match interview, Grealish told ITV: "I said to him that the next time I score I would do the celebration for (him).
"I don't know how he'd rate my dance moves – to be honest I ain't the best dancer, unless it's later on in the night – but, honestly, I had to do it and I think he'll be buzzing at home that it happened in a World Cup instead of the Premier League."
Claire Reid