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Last Saturday, Aston Villa's 3-0 loss at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea was most likely a normal matchday experience for those around Villa. It was a tough result, but somewhat predictable, as the Blues look likely to win the league and probably will do well in the Champions League as well. But for Jack Grealish's father and agent Kevin, an amazing offer came up!
According to the Irish Independent, RyanAir CEO Michael O'Leary has offered Grealish and his entire family a free flight to see Jack play in his international debut, so long as the Villa wonderkid commits his future to Ireland. After his recent performances for the Lions have gathered some attention around the country, there is speculation that the winger may declare for England. Born in Birmingham and coming up through the Villa academy, he is eligible to play for the Three Lions. So far, Grealish has played for Ireland at every level since the U14's, but now that this offer has come up, a spanner may have been thrown into the works.
Free flights with RyanAir isn't exactly the most tempting prospect. Sure, at first it seems nice, but if you have actually flown with the airline you realise the value of the deal isn't all that high. Even if Grealish has 100 people travel with him to the match, the total value of the offer would probably be under £5,000. Their flights are dirt cheap, and on bare bones planes. I'm not exactly sure if this would classify as such a stunt, but compared to O'Leary's past PR ideas this is probably the least harmless. Three years ago, the CEO proposed selling in-flight pornography, watchable on your iPad, for a price of course. He also said seatbelts on planes are pointless.
Admittedly, I have only flown with the company once, and for 25€ round trip from Berlin to Stockholm, you probably shouldn't complain. But, the airfield RyanAir flies to in Stockholm is actually an hour away from the city, so you need to catch a bus at 5 am on a Sunday morning for your 8 o'clock flight, due to weird bus schedules (obviously). That being said, it was so cheap that you can't really complain (unless you're a professional footballer and have infinite money).
What should Grealish do? Have you ever flown with RyanAir? Let us know in the comments!
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