Burnley's Kyle Walker admits leaving Man City a mistake

Former Manchester City captain Kyle Walker admitted that he left the club at the wrong time. He said he was selfish and should not have left when the team were struggling as much as they were at the time, being the leader of the squad. 

Walker asked to leave Manchester City during the January 2025 transfer window after seeing his playing time sharply reduced under Pep Guardiola. By then, City were going through a rough patch in the Premier League, posting an abysmal title defence. 

Guardiola confirmed that Walker had asked to “explore options abroad” after being left out of the squad for the FA Cup match against Salford City. 

He then joined AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, with the Italian club having an option to make the deal permanent. After that loan spell, Walker signed a two-year deal with newly promoted Premier League side Burnley, where he currently plays. 

In a conversation with Sky Sports, Walker admitted he should not have left at the time he did, “At that time in the season, should I have left? Looking back at it now, probably no.”

“I should have stood by or next to my teammates, next to my friends and people who I class as my family. But for the first time, probably in my career I was selfish and I thought about myself and I wanted to play football.”