Jack Grealish's journey to becoming the first £100million British footballer has featured plenty of maverick genius on the pitch and a fair sprinkling of controversies off it.
The 25-year-old England star, who has signed for Premier League champions Manchester City ahead of the new season, has long thrilled crowds with his trickery and ability to play a defence-splitting pass.
But he's also made headlines for the wrong reasons, from being pictured inhaling hippy crack to lying passed out on the street during a drunken night in Tenerife.
Only last year, he broke Covid lockdown rules to party at a former team-mate's flat before crashing his £90,000 Range Rover.
His love for now former club Aston Villa has made Grealish a target too - in a March 2019 match against bitter rivals Birmingham City, he was attacked on the pitch by an opposition fan.
England star Jack Grealish has become the first British player to command a £100million transfer fee as he leaves Aston Villa to sign for Manchester City
Grealish, 25, pictured with girlfriend Sasha Attwood, a model, in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik during their recent holiday
Grealish (back seat of the van) was seen leaving Manchester City headquarters after completing his medical on Thursday
None of that has stopped Grealish, who became very much the people's favourite during England's recent run to the final of Euro 2020, earning a move to the most successful club in the country at the moment.
He has dazzled for his boyhood club Villa for several years but joining City represents a sizeable step up.
For the first time, Grealish will play in European football's premier competition, the Champions League and stands to earn a huge salary in the region of £230,000-per-week.
The silky player who rolls his socks down to his ankles after being inspired by legend George Best, almost inviting opponents to kick his shins as he dribbles past them, is likely to swell his medal collection very quickly.
Grealish wears his socks rolled down and with the smallest possible shinpads having watched a video of Manchester United legend George Best (right) doing the same
Grealish charted his progression through the youth ranks at Villa in an Instagram collage
The Villa scout Jim Thomas spotted Grealish playing for Highgate United aged six and didn't hesitate to sign him up
Grealish is well accustomed to the pitfalls of life in the limelight with his family and girlfriend Sasha Attwood, a model, helping him focus on giving his best on the field.
Attwood, 25, revealed recently she received a barrage of '200 death threats a day' on social media as her partner played for England at the Euros.
They started going out when in secondary school and have recently rekindled their relationship after what was described as a 'rocky patch.'
Grealish was born in Birmingham to mother Karen and father Kevin, growing up in nearby Solihull with younger siblings Kevan, Kiera and Holly.
But there was family tragedy as well. Jack's younger brother Keelan died from sudden infant death syndrome in April 2000 at the age of nine months.
Dad Kevin said: 'Jack was only a kid himself back then, but he still remembers Keelan and he still thinks about him with everything he achieves.'
The family being of Irish descent, the young Grealish played Gaelic football for a local club in Warwickshire and once scored a point at the sport's spiritual home of Croke Park in Dublin.
But it was the more common form of football that drew Jack in from a very young age. There was never any doubt he'd be a Villa fan, either, given that every member of his family were die-hard fans of the Birmingham club.
Grealish and girlfriend Sasha started going out when at school and have recently rekindled their relationship after a 'rocky patch'
Grealish in a family snap he posted on Instagram with father Kevin, mum Karen and sisters Kiera and Holly
Jack's baby brother Keelan died from sudden infant death syndrome at the age of nine months
Perhaps it was destiny - after all, Jack's great-great-grandfather on his mum's side, Billy Garraty, was also a footballer and helped Villa win the FA Cup back in 1905.
A picture of Garraty hung in the family home and no doubt offered inspiration as Grealish's love for the game grew.
Even at the age of four, Grealish would have the ball glued to his feet and in 2001, aged six, he joined local club Highgate United Youth.
Grealish with the ball at his feet as a kid - he started off playing for local team Highgate United
'Jack had been playing with his cousins who were a year older,' dad Kevin recalled to the Birmingham Mail. 'He was the youngest of the lot and always player with the year above because he could handle it.
'Jack played one season for Highgate and that was it.'
Grealish was spotted by the Villa scout Jim Thomas while playing on Tythe Barne Lane playing fields in Shirley. The young lad in the oversized, bright orange Highgate kit stood out a mile.
'As soon as I'm there he's got the ball in his own penalty area and dribbled right the way through the team. He was very small but it was like looking at Maradona!' Thomas told BirminghamLive in 2019.
'There was a lady walking around with a pushchair, a pram, and it was his mother Karen. I said, "I've come to have a look at your son, would he like to come to Villa?"
'She puffed out her cheeks and said, "I'll say he would!"
Even at the age of six, it must have been a dream come true for the young lad who'd stand outside Villa's training ground to try and get a photograph with his idol Paul Merson.
Paul Merson was Grealish's hero growing up and his entire family were Aston Villa fanatics
He progressed through Villa's youth ranks, combining his football education with schooling at Our Lady of Compassion Roman Catholic Primary School and St Peter's Roman Catholic Secondary School.
Villa never had any doubt about his potential and even named him
