Kyle Walker has named the best players he has ever played with and against – with a surprise addition that has seen him stand out like some of his Manchester City teammates.
The club captain first joined Pep Guardiola in 2017 after playing at Tottenham since 2009, a spell that included loans at Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa.
But since moving to Manchester, the 34-year-old has played alongside some of the sport’s most impressive contemporary figures, both for his club and in the England set-up.
Speaking on his new podcast, You will never beat Kyle Walkerthe defenseman featured a number of top players that most fans might have guessed, as well as another tribute in left field.
“I’ve been fortunate to play with a lot of great players,” Walker began. ‘Tottenham, Gareth Bale, (Luka) Modric.
Kyle Walker (center) has been next to some bold names during his career
During his time at Tottenham, Walker played with Luka Modric (left) and Gareth Bale (right)
The 34-year-old had high praise for his former Manchester City teammate David Silva
“I think Ledley King was so underrated. When (Thierry) Henry says he is the best player he has played against, you must be doing something right, and for me he is a very, very underrated player who I had the pleasure of playing with at Tottenham. .
‘(Former Manchester City team-mate) David Silva was incredible. You’d give him a bad pass, and he’d make you look good.
“He made you look your best, he made you look a better player.”
On the way to the current teammate, Walker mentioned ‘people like the Kevins (De Bruyne) – he will go down in history as one of the best, if not the best midfielder in the Premier League.’
‘He’s one of them, he doesn’t mind giving the ball away. So he’ll attempt a 40-yard pass, and if that doesn’t work, the norm would be to say, “I’m not doing that again.” He just thinks, “You know what, just say, I’m just going to do it again.”
‘It’s human nature, you do something wrong, things don’t go well, you’re scared – not scared, but you’re cautious.
Walker was keen to bring up Ledley King (centre), describing the defender as ‘underrated’
Kevin De Bruyne was named as one of the best defenders in Premier League history
The England international believes shaking off that instinct is something that has been a ‘turning point’, stressing that in the past you were ‘a bit afraid of making a mistake when you played for England.’
“But now the amount of talent we have in that team is incredible, and we should probably do something this summer,” Walker added, noting that there would be “lots of celebrations for us” if Gareth Southgate’s side were to win this win the European Championship in Germany this summer.
When discussing his toughest opponents, Walker highlighted their ability to appear “obvious” as if they were “playing in a playground.”
‘There are two people who stand out for me, namely Neymar (Jnr) and (Eden) Hazard. They were the two that… you didn’t really know what they were going to do. They were just enjoying themselves.
When describing his most talented opponents, Walker praised Neymare Jnr (pictured in 2021)
The defender described the Brazilian and Eden Hazard (pictured) playing ‘out of hand’
‘And for me, I love watching Neymar. Get on YouTube because he’s entertainment. and just because we have a job and we want to win, we are entertainers, and we get paid to entertain.”
Walker also added that former Premier League opponent Sadio Mane had been ‘a nightmare’ for him when he was part of a ‘very, very good Liverpool side’.
After clinching a historic fourth consecutive Premier League title from Man City at the end of the season, Walker will now prepare to link up with Gareth Southgate’s squad ahead of next week’s international friendlies.
England play Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday and Iceland next Friday, ahead of the tournament against Serbia on June 16.