Bidding farewell to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side must have been a difficult decision for several players over the years who have had to leave for a multitude of reasons.
After his exit was announced, Kevin De Bruyne expressed his disappointment about leaving Manchester City as the club decided not to hand him a contract renewal.
Riyad Mahrez claimed Manchester City is the pinnacle of European football and once a player either chooses to leave or is even told to, they are set to suffer a downgrade at their next club.
More than a decade ago, the same could have been said about Manchester United, with Rio Ferdinand’s surprise move to Queens Park Rangers in 2014 summing up why it used to be a risk to leave Old Trafford.
Kyle Walker’s move to Everton could be a repeat of Rio Ferdinand’s move to QPR
Kyle Walker could now be in the same boat as the Englishman this summer as Everton could be his next destination.
Walker has said yes to joining Everton and all that is left to determine is whether he will leave Manchester City permanently or on a one-year loan deal.
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However, the £50 million man is taking a massive risk, much like when Rio Ferdinand did, who told the Stick To Football podcast that he regretted his decision to join QPR: “‘I wish I finished my career at Manchester United, rather than moving to QPR.”
“I used to travel in with Bobby Zamora as we were living in the same area, and I had been at QPR for about a month, and I remember one day in the car, he started laughing for no reason When he stopped, he asked me why I was at QPR as he could see my body was shutting down, I was getting injuries, I was having to plaster myself through games and manage myself through training sessions.”
Rio Ferdinand was keen to play one final season in the Premier League, admitting: “For me, I wanted one final season, playing in London, back home, my kids were of an age where they understood football a lot more.”
However, Walker has fallen off a cliff defensively, much like Rio Ferdinand did at QPR as the former’s pace, reading of the game and awareness seemed to have slowed down with age.
With Everton expected to battle relegation season in, season out, the 35-year-old will be tested at the back constantly and whether he is still ready to play in the Premier League is questionable to say the least.
Manchester City are ready to sell Walker and one of the reasons surely must be how error-prone he is, as last season, the veteran was culpable for a whole host of goals; from Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against the Sky Blues to Cody Gakpo’s strike when Liverpool won 2-0 at Anfield.
New twist emerges in Kyle Walker’s move to Everton
It is time for Walker to accept that he is no longer cut out for Premier League football, much like Rio Ferdinand had to during his time at QPR.
The 35-year-old is one of the best right-backs in Premier League history but even in the 2023/2024 season, he looked miles off the pace, with wingers like Anthony Gordon and Raheem Sterling causing him nightmares.
A blessing in disguise for the player himself could be that signing Walker is not Everton’s priority as they are looking to bolster their squad in other positions, as a move could very well be off.