Manchester City had to deal with the exits of Ilkay Gündogan and Riyad Mahrez during the recently concluded transfer window, but one that Pep Guardiola was not ready to accept was a move for right-back Kyle Walker, who ended up snubbing big offers to leave the treble winners.
The 33-year old decided to shed details on the circumstances that led him to look away from his desired move to Bayern München, and he named Pep Guardiola as a key element to make this decision.
"We had sushi for dinner, Pep and me. He convinced me to stay at Manchester City. It was never a question of money, I have saved enough. At my age I shouldn't be worrying about money. I and only concerned about my happiness and to satisfy my need to play football. It was a matter of which team was going to give me more years to keep playing. I believe there's still a lot of life in these legs,"Walker told
Walker then admitted that leaving was truly an option for him, but he chose to be loyal to the club instead.
"I came close, but anything can happen in football. Would I have enjoyed the experience? Sure! But this is a great club and you cannot overlook what the club has done for me in the past six or seven years," the defender added.
Despite his willingness to hear an offer from Bayern, the footballer always believed he had something to prove while being a Cityzen.
"On the back of my head, I always wanted to keep playing for Manchester City. This is a great club, and there's no reason to leave if I'm going to enjoy enough playing time," Walker concluded.
The 33-year-old right back has gone on to play all four Premier League games with Manchester City this season. He has been captain of the team in three of those, completing all matches and keeping a perfect disciplinary record.
