Kyle Walker opened up about his troubled childhood in a candid new interview, how his father would “move him to tears” after every football game.
The 34-year-old professional footballer, who grew up on the Lansdowne estate in Sheffield, told how his upbringing in social housing has influenced his own parenting and how he wants to pass ‘some’ of that on to his own children.
Kyle has four sons with his wife Annie Kilner, Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, Reign, five, and four-month-old Rezon. He also has two children with Lauryn Goodmanson Kairo, four, and daughter Kinara, 12 months.
The athlete admitted that he used to dislike his father’s parenting style, but now he won’t let his own children win when they play football on the school playground.
Talking about BBC sounds podcast, You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker, he explained, “My dad, I hated going to football with him. It didn’t matter if I played good or bad, I would get in the car and be reduced to tears.”
Kyle Walker told how his father ‘moved him to tears’ after every football game as he discussed his troubled childhood in a candid new interview (pictured last month)
The 34-year-old professional footballer, who grew up on the Lansdowne Estate in Sheffield, told how his upbringing in social housing influenced his own parenting (pictured with his parents Michael and Tracey)
His father Michael was originally from Jamaica and moved to England in his late teens. He met his mother Tracey shortly after. He has two brothers, Trey and Zamir Walker.
Kyle continued: “I don’t blame him for that because it’s made me the person and the player I am. I always want to prove people wrong and early in my career it was my dad I was trying to prove wrong. He did it because he cared about me.
“Now that I have my children, I don’t let them win anymore. If I keep letting them win, it will be traumatic for them when they lose. We play football games in the garden and I give it my all because it teaches them that, they will become better people and winners.
‘My father’s parents came from Jamaica and left him in England when he was 17 with £200 and a washing machine, so he passed it on to me from his parents.
“I try to do that as little as possible. But what he taught me to be a winner, I try to pass that on to the boys.”
Kyle speaks candidly about his life in the flats. He remembers seeing fires and dead bodies, but sometimes he still wishes he could move his children to a housing estate.
He said: ‘A man had petrol through the door and someone threw a match in. It was three floors up, the janitors were holding a blanket underneath and catching children as their mothers threw them down. She died there.’
Kyle, who reportedly earns £160,000-a-week, stressed that his children are not spoiled and should ‘entertain themselves’.
“I say now that I have the privileges to have fun things, but the kids have to entertain themselves. They play with their brothers and that’s it,” he said.
Kyle has four sons with his wife Annie Kilner, Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, Reign, five, and four-month-old Rezon (Annie pictured last month)
He also has two children with ex Lauryn Goodman, son Kairo, four, and one-year-old daughter Kinara
He added: ‘Sometimes I wish I could put them on an estate so they could hang out with other people and have other friends. When I was growing up, you’d round up your mates.’
Kyle is currently fighting to save his relationship with Annie, 32, after fathering not one but two children with Lauryn during their marriage.
Annie evicted him from their £4million Cheshire family home when the truth came out, with Kyle then forced to sign a six-month lease.
A source told MailOnline that Kyle is living between the apartment and his parents’ home while he and Annie work on their relationship.
The source said: ‘Kyle is currently between homes as he only rented an apartment for six months when he and Annie split in January.
As he is still working on the relationship, he has decided to split his time between the two places, so he can stay close to his work and training, while still maintaining his relationship with his family.
‘Annie, Kyle and the boys have had a great summer together, helping them work through their issues and keep things as normal as possible for their four boys. Kyle treated Annie to a beautiful beach barbecue on her birthday and those special moments mean the world to all of them.
‘They continue to think about what their future looks like as a couple, with the children taking center stage.’
In July, Lauryn lost her alimony case with the footballer after a tumultuous series of months.
The athlete admitted that he used to dislike his father’s parenting style, but now he won’t let his own children win when they play football on the school playground.
Kyle, who reportedly earns £160,000-a-week, also insisted his children are not spoiled and ‘need to entertain themselves’
In an interview with The sun on sundaythe influencer described Kyle as a man who “wants to have it all and eat it all.” Instead of being the “gold digger” she’s been called, she’s just trying to do the right thing for her kids.
She said: ‘Sometimes I get tired of all the criticism, but I don’t regret fighting to protect my children financially from an unfaithful father.’
Last month, in an extraordinary court ruling, Lauryn was accused of using Kyle as an “open cheque book” and “repeatedly threatening him to get what she wanted”.
She said she was portrayed at her recent court hearing as having “insatiable greed and a relentless pursuit of money,” but she insisted she is financially solvent thanks to her job as an influencer and regular TV appearances.