Kyle Walker reveals reason behind choosing Burnley for post-Manchester City life | OneFootball

Manchester City’s legendary former right-back Kyle Walker has now revealed why he has chosen to take his career to Burnley after almost eight years at the Etihad Stadium.

The England international has signed a two-year deal at Turf Moor to join forces with former Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker after returning from a brief loan stint at AC Milan, who decided against signing Walker on a permanent basis.

Walker, 35, joined Manchester City for a then world record fee for a defender (£50 million) in 2017 and has since etched his name as one of the greatest right-backs in Premier League history, having won six Premier League titles and a plethora of domestic cups under Pep Guardiola.

Born in Sheffield, the full-back came through the ranks at Sheffield United alongside Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, before joining Tottenham in 2009 and returning to Bramall Lane for another six months.

Walker fell out of favour under Guardiola in the final months of 2024 owing to a run of poor form and a series of high-profile errors in the midst of Manchester City’s worst run of results under Guardiola, who offered the right-back the armband in 2023.

Guardiola convinced Walker to rebuff interest from Bayern Munich after Manchester City won a historic treble in 2023, with the defender signing a new two-year deal and subsequently leading the Blues to a fourth successive league title in 2024.

However, City are undergoing a major squad revamp led by newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana and the club have parted ways with Walker, who was set to enter the final year of his last contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Walker is well beyond his prime and Manchester City are mulling on the acquisition of a new right-back amid interest in Newcastle and England defender Valentino Livramento, who was part of the Three Lions squad that won the U-21 European Championship in Slovakia in June.

Manchester City have signed Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Ait-Nouri in the current transfer window. After letting Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson go on free transfers, Walker has also been sold in a deal that could reach £5 million.

Speaking during his first interview as a Burnley player, Walker has spoken of the ‘aura’ that came with the proposal from Turf Moor and the possibility of playing under Scott Parker in Lancashire.

“At this stage of my career, being at a great club (Manchester City) for a number of years. I went overseas (on loan to AC Milan) and tried that out, but I just felt I needed something that was a family club,” the England international said.

“I’ve been around the place (Burnley) and my son is training at the training ground and you can feel the aura around there and what the owners are trying to do and I wanted to be a part of that. I want to be a part of the success.”