Former Manchester City captain Kyle Walker has been forced to issue a statement clarifying comments he made on radio regarding the potential removal of tattoos related to his Etihad Stadium successes.
Are Man City's titles now tainted after the Premier League verdict?
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Walker has appeared on talkSPORT and openly discussed Manchester City's ongoing appeal against a guilty verdict issued by the Premier League following findings from an independent commission concerning financial rules breaches between 2009 and 2018.
City are adjudged to have artificially inflated commercial revenue in the aforementioned period through 'sham' contracts, increasing amounts by around £900 million across a nine-year period.
Manchester City continue to defend the position of innocence and, in light of submitting a 'comprehensive' appeal against the judgement, point towards their body of 'irrefutable evidence'.
Whilst an appeal remains ongoing and no punishments have yet been decided, some discussing the matter in media circles believe City should be stripped of titles won during the period in question - including three Premier League crowns.
Other possible punishments touted by pundits and prominent football figures include lengthy transfer bans, extensive financial sanctions, and even significant points deductions that would almost certainly result in relegation to the Championship.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Kyle Walker was asked whether a 'Four-In-A-Row' tattoo would need to be removed if medals are taken away as a result of Manchester City's guilty verdict.
The former Etihad Stadium captain laughed in response, "Well I'm probably going to have to do that bit," before pointing out that 'the likes of the great Man United squads' had not even achieved what he and his Manchester City teammates had managed to achieve between 2021 and 2024.
Kyle Walker issues Man City tattoos statement
Now, in a statement issued on Instagram, Kyle Walker has been forced to clarify comments he made live on talkSPORT on Wednesday, insisting that he has no intention of removing tattoos related to his successes as a Manchester City player.
"Just to clear up the misleading headlines today. I've never had any intention of removing my Manchester City tattoos," Walker wrote.
The former Manchester City captain and England international continued, "My time at City was a huge part of my career and journey as a player, and something I'll always be incredibly proud of.
"I shared some unbelievable moments with great teammates, people at the club and of course the City fans, who supported us throughout.
"Those memories will always stay with me. As will the tattoos."
Why has Walker been forced to respond?
Manchester City fans across social media had largely responded in anger towards the comments of the club's former captain, in a continued feeling of disapproval towards Kyle Walker after the manner of his exit from the Etihad Stadium.
Midway through a hugely difficult 2024/25 campaign, in which City battled to a late qualification place for the UEFA Champions League, Walker opted to leave the club in favour of a six-month loan to AC Milan - dropping the captain's armband in the process.
By the time that agreement ended, Walker was a free agent, and decided to make a move to Burnley, where he succumbed to relegation from the Premier League and is now languishing towards the bottom of the Championship in the ongoing campaign.
For now, it remains to be seen whether Kyle Walker opts to discuss Manchester City's ongoing situation any further, particularly given the outrage in response to his latest words.