Grealish has been touted to make a £100m transfer to join Pep Guardiola’s men this summer but Barnes believes City are well stocked with players who can play in the England international’s position.
Barnes has opined that the 25-year-old will not get enough playing time should he move to the Etihad Stadium.
"Joining Man City might not be a wise move for Jack Grealish," Barnes told BonusCodeBets.co.uk.
"The player I’d expect to go is Harry Kane but I don’t know if he’ll want to join Manchester City or Manchester United. Is Man City the place for Jack Grealish? You’ve got Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, you don’t need another number ten.
"If he goes there, what kind of player is he going to be? He’s not in the England team because you can’t play all number tens.
"With the amount of attacking players City have - De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Foden and Raheem Sterling - whose place is he going to take in that team? If he doesn’t play ahead of them, why is he going to go to Man City?"
Grealish was largely used as an impact substitute during England’s run to the final of EURO 2020, where they lost to Italy.
"People were saying for England that he (Grealish) should be playing, but the reason we got to the final was because of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, two holding midfield players," Barnes added.
"Mason Mount played instead because he’s a hard-working attacking player and will work back defensively. Grealish doesn’t do that as much as Mount does, so that’s why Mount was ahead of him.
"Grealish is a fantastic player but will it suit him to go to City?"
