Jack Grealish will be looking to break a Champions League record when Manchester City lock horns with Inter Milan in Saturday's final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
The Citizens are hoping to win a historic treble and become the first English team since rivals Manchester United in 1998-99 to get their hands on the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.
Grealish has established himself as a key player in Pep Guardiola's side and has come on leaps and bounds this season after initially failing to reach the heights expected following his £100m transfer in the summer of 2021.
The England international has contributed with five goals and 11 assists in 49 matches for the Citizens in all competitions this season, while he has featured in all 12 of City's Champions League fixtures en route to the final.
Grealish may have only registered one assist in the Champions League so far this term, six behind Kevin De Bruyne (seven) at the top of the charts, but he has created 35 chances for his teammates in this season's competition, more than any other player and the most on record by any English player in a single Champions League campaign.
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Indeed, the 27-year-old created three chances in the 4-0 semi-final second-leg victory over Real Madrid last month to move onto 35, surpassing the previous record for an English player held by former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard who created 34 chances in 2007-08 and 32 chances in 2006-07.
Should Grealish created at least three more chances in Saturday's showpiece event against Inter, he will break the record for the most chances created in a single season of the Champions League.
The current record is held by Ajax midfielder Dusan Tadic who created a total of 37 chances across 12 games during the 2018-19 campaign, with the Dutch giants progressing to the semi-finals.
Speaking to mancity.com ahead of Saturday's showdown with Inter, Grealish said: "This is the exact reason that I came to City. To play in a Champions League final and have played such a big part in everything this year in the league and FA Cup too.
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"It's what you dream of when you're a youngster growing up and even five or six years ago it was what I was dreaming of.
"So to go and do it in a final with this group of guys now is a privilege and a dream come true."
"One of my main attributes is creating chances, of course," Grealish added. "I want to drag people in and if I drag two or three players then we have always got another player, whether it be [Ilkay Gundogan] or Kevin [De Bruyne] spare on the edge of the box or in a dangerous position.
"That's all about the team, though. I can't speak highly enough of this team at the moment, the players I am with and the way we play, it's a pleasure to play in."
Meanwhile, Grealish's teammate and attacking partner Erling Braut Haaland will be looking to break yet another goalscoring record, this time one set by Ruud van Nistelrooy, when the Citizens do battle with Inter this weekend.
Oliver Thomas
