Manchester City fullback Kyle Walker signed a contract extension with the club, a few weeks after he almost joined former Tottenham Hotspur man Harry Kane at Bayern Munich.
His was an extension that excited the club and the fans, and now, the player has come out to state that he was always 100 percent certain about continuing his career at the Etihad.
The player joined Pep Guardiola at the Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade pre-match press conference ahead of their first 2023/24 UEFA Champions League clash.
“Why should I want to leave this great team?,” Walker said to the Manchester City media team when asked why he decided to stay at the club.
“For me it was just about the years [on the contract]. I’m 33 years young and I still feel great. For me it was about settling in, I didn’t really want to sign another year to then have this conversation again next year. I wanted to be settled not just for me but for my family as well.”
“I feel that now I am settled, you see in the performances that I don’t have it in the back of my mind because it does play on your mind where you know you’ve got a little bit of uncertainty.”
“I want to stay at this Club for as long as possible because why would I leave a team that’s gone on and won three Premier Leagues in a row, a Treble and a Champions League?”
“If I’d have left in the summer I don’t go and score the winning penalty at the Super Cup and lift that. It’s working out so far but it’s early days.”
“Nothing’s decided at this moment in time in the Premier League or any other competition and we need to make sure that, as we are nine times out of 10, there into the later stages.”
Pep Guardiola also answered questions about why he signed off on extending Walker’s contract at the club.
“I would say first of all [as] a footballer, [he] has a genetic [quality that] is incomparable, physicalities, something unique,” Guardiola said.
“After is the personality,” he explained. “When he talks to his mates, the people listen and now I think he is making a step as a more mature player, on and off the pitch.”
Walker signed a three-year extension on his deal which will see him remain at the club until 2027. He is still attracting interest from Bayern Munich but like every other Pep Guardiola player, it depends on the Spaniard’s appraisal of his current condition.
Walker has been at the club since 2017 and has gone on to amass 261 total appearances in that time. He has lifted 25 trophies, with the UEFA Super Cup in August being the latest.
