Kyle Walker says his Manchester City chapter is not yet closed despite his loan move to AC Milan that could become permanent in the summer.
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Pep Guardiola and Kyle Walker
Kyle Walker opened up on his final conversation with Pep Guardiola at Man City and his plans for the future.
(Image: Michael Regan)
Kyle Walker insists his Manchester City career is not over - despite Pep Guardiola saying only last week that he does not consider his former captain a Blues player any more.
Walker left City on loan in January after losing his place to Rico Lewis this season. The club captain joined AC Milan until the end of the season, with a £4.2m option for the Italian giants to make the move permanent.
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Things haven't completely gone to plan for Walker in Milan despite him starting more games. He has had injury and form issues and recently made headlines for scalding teammate Joao Felix for not passing the ball enough, telling the Chelsea loanee he is 'not Messi'.
Still, Milan have expressed a desire to keep Walker past the summer and Guardiola was clear last week when asked if he still considered the 34-year-old a member of his squad. "He is a player for Milan," the manager bluntly replied, as well as referencing a recent visit back to the training ground from Walker.
Now, Walker himself has opened up on the emotional conversations he held with Guardiola in January plus a meeting with the City squad and first team staff in the CFA canteen before the move was sealed. He said he couldn't turn Milan down but also left the door firmly open to a City return if the option to buy is not triggered.
"I wanted to say goodbye to the lads in the canteen before I left when I knew the deal was complete," he said on his podcast - You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker. "And he [the player liason officer] actually texted the whole building! So, there were 150 people there and I had to say goodbye, which was a little bit nerve wracking, and it was sad because as much as people might have this persona about me or whatever, I did speak to completely everyone in that building from the cleaners, to the cooks, to the kit men, to the physios...
"But, after I said my goodbyes, Pep got up and spoke and said a really nice message to me, just saying thank you for everything. But, listen, it's not over. I'm just on loan here.
"I've got to take that into consideration that I can go back. Obviously, both parties need to come to an agreement come the end of the season and...Listen, the chapter's not fully closed, but we'll see what happens."
Walker also offered an insight into his final meeting with Guardiola when he decided to ask for the switch to Milan. He said: "One thing with Pep is that if a player wants to explore a different avenue, he's never stood in that player's way.
"I think with him being a top player, playing for a top club and managing these top players, [he knows] people are going to have different desires or ambitions to go and do certain things with their career, and I just think for me, it just came at the right time. It came at the right time. It was the right club.
"And I just felt, you know what, I need to go and try something different because I don't want to live after football saying I wish I'd have just explored something different and come to a club like this. I think it was the right fit for me."
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