PEP Guardiola was left “disappointed” with Kyle Walker after he went to Manchester City chiefs to push for an exit this January.
The England right-back reportedly bypassed manager Guardiola to seal an initial six-month loan move to AC Milan.
GettyPep Guardiola was reportedly left ‘disappointed’ with Kyle Walker[/caption]
RexWalker went to club chiefs to request an exit to AC Milan[/caption]
Walker, whose Milan deal includes an option to buy, approached City director of football Txiki Begiristain to push through a move.
After City smashed Salford 8-0 in the FA cup on January 11, Guardiola told media that captain Walker had “asked to leave the club”.
Walker admitted during his Milan unveiling that he felt “very uncomfortable” telling Guardiola he wanted to quit City.
And Guardiola was left “disappointed” by the way the 34-year-old went about it, according to The Athletic.
The City boss felt as though he had a close relationship with the defender, who should have gone to him first amid the team’s struggles this season.
In total, Walker only started nine of City’s 23 Premier League matches this term, as 20-year-old Rico Lewis began creeping above him in the pecking order.
Midfielder Matheus Nunes was also used at right-back in certain games and Walker felt that he could no longer cut it at City.
Walker has aspirations to get back in the England setup under Thomas Tuchel and therefore is keen to still play at the highest level.
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The right-back’s glittering seven-and-a-half year spell at Man City has ended – for now at least.
Milan have the option to permanently sign him for less than £5m in the summer.
Walker came close to leaving after City’s Treble win in 2023 when Bayern Munich wanted to sign him.
He has lifted six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups, the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup a the club.
In his absence, Ruben Dias has been promoted to second captain, behind Kevin De Bruyne.
Guardiola gave a frosty answer when asked on Friday if Walker would be missed, saying only that his captain “decided to leave”.
Walker was immediately thrown into the deep end on Sunday as he started in the Milan derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Walker’s wife Annie Kilner and their kids flew out to Italy ahead of the crunch clash.
Meanwhile City hit the panic button and spent £182million on five players to try and rescue their season.
It was the second-highest spent in a winter window from a Prem club, with Chelsea‘s record still standing at £275million in 2023.
City brought in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush in a £59m transfer, followed by Palmeiras‘ Vitor Reis for £29.6m and Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov for £33.6m.
Before Monday’s deadline, they secured the arrival of Porto‘s Nico Gonzalez by splashing out £50m, while Juma Bah was immediately loaned out to Lens.
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RexWalker started for AC Milan on Sunday[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
