Walker seals world record move to work with Guardiola
Fee will exceed £50m PSG paid for David Luiz £130,000-a-week deal is double his Spurs wages
Kyle Walker has claimed Pep Guardiola was the reason he quit Tottenham Hotspur to join Manchester City in a world record deal for a defender.
City completed the signing of Walker on Friday afternoon after finally agreeing a fee with Tottenham 24 hours earlier, as first revealed by Telegraph Sport.
Walker has become the world’s most expensive defender, despite claims from City that the final fee cannot exceed the £50m Paris Saint-germain paid Chelsea for David Luiz in 2014.
Sources involved in the deal have told Telegraph Sport that City could have to pay over £50m once addons are factored in and that appeared to be supported by Walker’s representatives Base Soccer. The agency tweeted a message that read: “We’re delighted to have moved @ kylewalker2 to @Mancity for a record fee for a defender and record fee for an English player.”
Walker told Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino that he wanted to leave the club after the victory over Watford in April, in which Kieran Trippier started ahead of him. The 27-year-old has now got his wish and has signed a five-year contract with City worth around £130,000-a-week, double what he was being paid by Spurs.
But Walker has insisted it was the chance to work under Guardiola, and not the money, that influenced his decision. Walker said: “Pep Guardiola is one of the most respected managers in the world and I feel he can help me take my game to a new level. I am thrilled to be signing for City and can’t wait to get started.”
Walker’s statement was in contrast to his words in a message he posted on Twitter in 2012 after Tottenham had been beaten by City.
The England international reacted to the defeat by tweeting: “All u man city fans u can talk now we will just see at the end of the season… was u all there when city was no where to be seen #gloryfans”.
A few hours later, Walker deleted the tweet and apologised, posting: “Apologise for this tweet just so gutted about the result today, sometimes football gets the better of u. Night.”
City will now turn their attention to trying to tie up the signing of 22-year-old left-back Benjamin Mendy from Monaco.
Sevilla are close to signing Nolito in a €9million deal from City. The Spain forward has endured a miserable past 12 months at City following a £13.8 million move from Celta Vigo and recently complained about life in the city.