Manchester City captain Kyle Walker has revealed he rarely watched football before joining Manchester City in 2017.
The wing-back was signed by Pep Guardiola seven summers ago after eight years in north London with Tottenham, which was sprinkled with loan spells at Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa.
The now 34-year-old Walker has won almost everything there is to win at Manchester City. He has played a key role in City’s reign in six of the last seven Premier League campaigns.
Guardiola’s tutelage appears to have passed to Walker and he watches his clips back, sees where he can improve and watches the sport regularly.
For Walker, however, things weren’t always this way. Speaking on his new BBC podcast: You will never beat Kyle Walker“He said: ‘I’ve probably watched more football in the last two years than before. I never used to watch football.
Kyle Walker won his sixth Premier League title with Man City this season, his first as captain
Walker, 34, burst onto the scene at Tottenham but didn’t have the same approach to the sport as he does now
Everything changed for the full-back when he arrived at City in the summer of 2017
‘Before you came to [Manchester] City, I just played football for the sake of playing football. I didn’t think, “I could be better at this or I could do better at that, or maybe my defense was great there.” I haven’t watched any videos or anything like that.’
After spending a number of times on loan at the start of his Spurs career, Walker made a name for himself at Tottenham in 2012 when he was named PFA Young Player of the Year, beating his future teammate, Sergio Aguero.
As the years passed, Walker only got better, and he had certainly matured when he left the capital for Manchester in the summer of 2017.
When Walker was at Tottenham in his younger years, he didn’t have the same outlook on life or his career as he does now.
‘One million percent [I learn more now]. I was just playing football [back] Than. As a 20 to 21 year old in London at that time you don’t think you are playing the best football and winning Young Player of the Year.
‘You had nightclubs that were open every day of the week. I was just going to enjoy my life.’
Walker isn’t the only footballer who has shared that watching football wasn’t for them when they were younger; his former English compatriot, Ben White, had similar sentiments.
In an interview with Sky Sports in 2021, the Arsenal defender revealed that he was not a fan of the game growing up, but unlike Walker, his attitude has not changed.
“No, I never watched football when I was younger, and I still don’t now,” he told Sky Sports three years ago.
‘I just loved the game, I always played it, never watched it. So I don’t know much about the older generations.
Walker won the PFA Young Player of the Year while playing for Spurs in 2012 and is said to have ‘just started enjoying’ his life during this time
Arsenal defender Ben White is another professional player who has admitted he doesn’t watch football outside of playing
The interview was conducted ahead of a match with Crystal Palace, who were managed at the time by former Arsenal legend Patrick Viera.
When asked about Viera, White doubled down on his stance and continued, “I know [Vieira] was a very good player, but I wouldn’t know the details.
‘I’m quite busy, I’m always doing something. I look at myself for analytical reasons. I might be looking at England. I wouldn’t just sit and watch a match.’