ESPN
Jan 28, 2025, 04:28 AM ET
Kyle Walker has said it was "not a comfortable conversation" when he told Pep Guardiola he wanted to leave Manchester City for more game time.
Walker, 34, has joined Serie A giants AC Milan on loan until the end of the season, while the club also have an option to make the move permanent in the summer.
The England defender has made 319 career appearances for City and won 17 trophies but, having started just nine Premier League games this term, he told his manager earlier in January he wanted a new challenge abroad.
Guardiola, while insisting it was "impossible" to replace Walker, ultimately decided to grant his wishes having convinced him against a move to Bayern Munich two years ago.
"When I spoke with Pep it was not a very comfortable conversation because of the respect that we both have for each other and what we've achieved at Manchester City," Walker revealed at his unveiling in Milan on Monday.
"Everything that he's won at Manchester City, I've also won.
"I would like to think that he knows what I bring to the dressing room and the atmosphere that I create.
"I'm here to play football. I'm here to work with my teammates. But at Manchester City, it was my family, from the cooks to the cleaner to the kitman to the physios. I have to try to find the same here."
Walker is determined to win things at AC Milan, who are seventh in Serie A and sixth in the Champions League standings.
"Obviously things at City weren't going too well and I wasn't playing as much football as I wanted," Walker explained.
"I could have stayed in Manchester. I still had a contract there. And I would have [respected] that contract if they wouldn't have let me leave. But I think it comes down to challenges in life.
"I don't want to just win things in one country. I want to come to another country and also win there as well. If I wasn't going to a big club I think I would have stayed in the Premier League, stayed at Manchester City and continued my career there.
"But when a club like this comes knocking on the door for you -- I think there's only certain clubs in the world that you can kind of not say no to."
Walker will wear the No. 32 in Milan in honour of David Beckham's spell there and plans to learn Italian. He could make his debut in the derby against Inter on Sunday.
"There's no need to present Kyle Walker, his time at Manchester City has already done this," Milan advisor and former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added.
"He's a great addition, he's a leader on and off the pitch, he has a lot of character. Even though we have a lot of full-backs, we couldn't say no, it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up on. For me, he can also play as a centre-back, he did so at City. He will give us a lot, we are confident that he will be important for the team."
