Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has revealed he was “close” to joining Bayern Munich this summer after speculation over his future throughout the window but is now set to sign a new contract extension after all.
The long-serving Cityzen and England fullback is now one of the more senior players in Pep Guardiola‘s squad, having been there for six years and won everything there is to win with the club, but has now confirmed that talk of him going to the German giants wasn’t just concrete, it was nearly a done deal.
Speaking to BBC Sport after Man City’s emphatic 5-1 win over Fulham (yes, yet another hattrick from Erling Haaland), Walker said: “Decisions can be made, things can turn. It was close but in football, things can happen — it wasn’t meant to be.”
The 33-year-old is now set to sign his new deal in the coming days, one which will see him extend his stay at the Etihad until at least 2026.
Walker spoke for 15 minutes about:
📌 Bayern move being ‘close’ 📌 Ready to sign new City deal 📌 His views on the captaincy 📌 How he’s changed as a leader 📌 City going again after treble 📌 What more they could’ve done last season
Kyle Walker confirmed he will be extending his City contract after nearly joining Bayern.
The fan favourite Blue and England international told reporters, “Would I have enjoyed the experience? Of course I would, but this is a great club and you can’t underestimate what this club has done in the last six or seven years.”
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On the other hand, Walker admitted, “Why should I walk away if I am going to get enough game time that’s right for me? That is all I want: I want to play football. I love the game and want to play, whether that’s here, Germany, Italy, Spain or in the Championship.”
“I wanted to play football so if I don’t feel that I am getting enough game time whether that is on X amount of pounds or no pounds… The money, I don’t care about it. You might say that’s a cliché, but I don’t care about it. I am just worried about my happiness and playing football.”
The former Spurs and Sheffield United right-back went on to say: “In the back of my head I always wanted to play for Manchester City but I had to do what was right for me and my future. It was just about which club gave me the years in my contract to play football at the highest level.”
After moving past the Bayern discussion, Walker reaffirmed the love for his time spent in Manchester thus far, assuring that the contract extension “is coming” whilst adding, “It’s my seventh season here and I feel like one of the old ones.”
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“I love the place. I’ve experienced things I only dreamt of here – especially the last season – so why would you want to leave a club like this?” Midfielder Bernardo Silva found himself in a similar situation at the start of the season with interest from all over Europe but has also decided to stay for a while longer.
He also assured that he would never try and force a move to another club, insisting: “I am a Manchester City player. I am contracted to them so what do you want me to do? Turn around and say ‘I am not playing because I want to force a move to Bayern Munich’? That is not me as a person.
“I have a contract with the club and I will play for the club until the contract [ends] or they sell me – and I wasn’t sold.” Walker has also been pulling on the captain’s armband after Ilkay Gündogan bid goodbye after seven years and replacement Kevin de Bruyne is out injured.
Featured Image — Kyle Walker (via Instagram)/Bayern Munich
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
4th September 2023 
