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Following a commanding 8-0 win over near rivals Salford in the FA Cup third round tie at the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola told the media about Kyle Walker expressing his desire to leave Manchester City, to explore options to play for an overseas club. Currently, Kyle Walker, who is the captain of Manchester City, has 18 months left on his contract, but despite that, he talked to the director of football Txiki Begiristain about wanting to exit the club.
Notably, for the FA Cup tie last night, right-back Kyle Walker was left out of Manchester City’s matchday squad despite having two recognised defenders in their lineup. With such uncertainty surrounding his professional as well as personal life, the decision from Kyle Walker to look for a way out of the club in the ongoing January transfer window in spite of being the captain, is quite understandable to say the least.
Two days ago Kyle (Walker) asked to explore the options to play abroad: Kyle Walker
In the post-match press conference after safely making it through to the FA Cup fourth round, Pep Guardiola addressed the uncertainty around Kyle Walker’s future at Manchester City. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “Two days ago Kyle (Walker) asked to explore the options to play abroad. We cannot understand (what) the club did these years without Kyle. It's impossible. He's been our right-back, giving us something we didn't have. But now in his mind, for many reasons, he would like to explore if he can go to another country to play his last years.”
When Guardiola was questioned about whether Manchester City will grant Walker his wish to leave the club, he responded, “Of course.” But at the same time, he said, “It doesn't mean it's going to happen because you never know the situation. But I am pretty convinced there's no-one in our job that doesn't want to be there who can perform and be exactly what they want to be.”
Moreover, Manchester City manager also revealed that Kyle Walker had earlier asked to leave the club following their treble in 2023, but Bayern Munich weren’t able to match the fees demanded by the English club for him.
