Pep Guardiola has been left fuming after defender Kyle Walker came back from England camp injured following the Three Lions two most recent Nations League fixtures.
Walker was one of multiple Manchester City players who travelled to St George’s Park for international duty but he’s the only one of Guardiola’s squad who has unfortunately returned with a knee issue.
The 34-year-old fullback wasn’t fit for the game against Wolves at the weekend after picking up the knock in the win over Finland and while the severity of the injury isn’t thought to be anything too serious, the manager has been left very frustrated.
Speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference ahead of Man City’s Champions League match against AC Sparta Praha, Pep began by saying “Never [have I been] so angry, never was I so disappointed.”
🗣️ "Never so angry"
After Kyle Walker returned injured from England duty, Pep Guardiola revealed last season's injury to John Stones before City's Real Madrid clash left him fuming…
The Catalan coach insisted he knows that no one wants to get injured but reiterated that picking up a problem as a result of a ‘friendly’ simply “cannot happen.”
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The 53-year-old went on to previous instances in which both Sunday’s match-winner John Stones and, most recently, the still-injured Nathan Ake have returned to training far from 100% after playing for the national team, sometimes before a crucial club game.
Although Nations League games are not technically friendlies – England are actually now in the second tier following the Euro 2024 final loss – the competition admittedly isn’t quite valued like the other major tournaments and was more created as a way to make the international break more interesting.
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Regardless, while Pep assures he always encourages his players to represent their country, he did take issue with the current lack of communication before players are called up.
“Before when I was a player, the national manager called the club manager but now nobody talks,” said Pep, “For the first or second season with Gareth [Southgate] but not since.”
City take on Sparta Praha in the UCL at 8pm on Wednesday night but will have to do without the experience of Kyle Walker in the meantime.
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Nevertheless, England youngster and academy graduate Rico Lewis has been thriving ever since he broke into the side and will no doubt be more than a sufficient stand-in until the right-back returns to full fitness. Elsewhere, midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne is said to be getting closer to a comeback.
You can watch Pep’s presser in full down below:
You can hear a fuming Pep discussing Walker getting injured, De Bruyne’s progress and more.
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 -
23rd October 2024 
