Pep Guardiola left ‘disappointed’ by behaviour of Kyle Walker over Manchester City exit | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was left ‘disappointed’ by the manner in which Kyle Walker handled his exit from the club last month, it has been revealed.

The England international full-back stunned many within the game by formally requesting a transfer from Manchester City during the January transfer window amid a challenging season for him both personally and as a collective within the Etihad Stadium.

The club captain’s performances were deteriorating at a significant rate and many supporters were wondering whether Walker had reached his natural conclusion within the City squad and in English football as a whole.

From the perspective of Walker himself, there was a feeling that now was the time to attempt something new at the tail-end of his career, and conversations were held with City officials to thrash out terms with potential suitors and ultimately get a deal done with AC Milan.

But while the 34-year-old himself seems to think he handled the situation well enough to not have any issues in the event of a potential return to Manchester City in the summer, others hold a different opinion.

According to the information of The Athletic’s Sam Lee, Pep Guardiola was left ‘disappointed’ by Kyle Walker after the former Manchester City captain conveyed his desire to leave the club to Director of Football Txiki Begiristain.

It is revealed that the sense of disappointment stemmed from Pep Guardiola feeling as though the two of them had ‘such a good relationship’ that the veteran full-back could ‘come to him with anything’.

Walker would go on to depart Manchester City on an initial loan deal including an option to buy for less than £5 million, although the report stresses that there is currently no indication that AC Milan will make the move permanent.

The former Sheffield United and Tottenham defender opened up on the manner of his exit from the Etihad Stadium during an unveiling press conference at AC Milan last month, in which he explained, “Things at Manchester City weren’t going too well.

“I wasn’t playing enough football of what I wanted to. So a reason for me wanting to come and play for this great club was that I hopefully can play a little more football than what I was doing there. And I want to win things.”

Walker also touched upon his conversation with the manager, as he continued, “When I spoke with Pep [Guardiola], it wasn’t a very comfortable conversation we’ll say, because of the respect we both have for each other.

“What we’ve achieved at Manchester City – everything he’s won at Manchester City, I’ve also won. And I would like to think that he knows what I bring to the dressing room and that atmosphere that I create.”