Jack Grealish, who became the number one public enemy in Rio, has responded to allegations that he made fun of Fluminense players at the Club World Cup final.

At the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, veteran former Juventus defender Felipe Melo, 40, was hauled off Kyle Walker as he tried to go to Grealish at the conclusion of regulation.

A huge melee broke out after Man City had thrashed Fluminense

Felipe Melo confronted Jack Grealish before Kyle Walker stepped in

Walker and Melo tussled on the pitch as players from both teams got involved

Grealish has now denied claims from Melo and the other Fluminense stars

Melo asserted that during the 4-0 rout, City’s Grealish had been making fun of teammate Martinelli.

The match’s oldest outfield player referred to Grealish as a coward for avoiding the challenge and not going up against him man-to-man.

Melo stated: “Grealish went after Martinelli after the game.” He went with a small man. He is too cowardly to take on a major one.

“I pursued Grealish because I spotted them conversing, forehead to forehead, as they were approaching Martinelli. I gave him a shove. Walker also shoved me. I went to stand up for a colleague.

“I defended my institution,” Melo continued. I’ll carry on like this forever. Nobody is going to treat my school or its players disrespectfully. Nobody is going to come and make my buddies or my club seem bad.

“I didn’t desire chaos. Grealish treated the Fluminense institution disrespectfully, and I will never allow it to continue.

When the game was about to conclude, he was yelling “ole”. Fans are the ones who can do this; athletes cannot act disrespectfully while they are on the field.

“I went to defend Martinelli because this athlete had him cornered.” I would repeat the process. I’m a fighter. A rooster cannot ever be used to crow.

Martinelli supported his teammate while acknowledging that he was unaware of Grealish’s conversation with him.

The 22-year-old midfielder claimed: “Everything was in English, so I didn’t understand what he said.

He was speaking angrily to me, so I intended to send him to hell.

“Why did he have to come and make fun of me when I didn’t even talk to him?

That’s football; the person actually acts disrespectfully when the game is going on. But life moves on; football is what it is. He’s simply not a good athlete.

Shortly before City’s flight back to Manchester took off due to a post-match deluge so intense it transformed the motorways into lakes, Grealish was informed of the allegations.

Jack Grealish and Man City lifted the Club World Cup as they romped to a 4-0 victory

The England player remarked on X, formerly Twitter, “Not once did I say ‘ole.'” He exited the stadium flanked by an army of his teammates, including Erling Haaland, who provided protection.

However, other Fluminense players, such as the legendary Marcelo from Real Madrid, denounced his alleged behavior, saying, “Everyone does what they want when playing.”

“I have won this competition four times, and Grealish has only won once,” is all I have to say about him. I would never behave in that manner.

Jhon Arias, a Colombian, continued, saying, “Grealish was very bad.” He started calling us “old” and made fun of us after the fourth goal.

“Simply put, this lacks sportsmanship. He did not behave like a man should. You have to be a man at all times, even when you lose.

That is not something you can do following a fourth goal. Given his temper, it’s hardly surprising that Felipe Melo found it offensive.