Kyle Walker explosively claimed that Pep Guardiola never wanted him to be Manchester City captain in an X-rated dressing room row weeks before leaving the club. The England defender reacted furiously to criticism from the manager after a 2-0 defeat at Anfield in December 2024 and challenged Guardiola for 'bringing up my name in every f****** meeting'.
Dressing room clash caught on camera
The flashpoint is one of a number of clashes in a new Amazon documentary out this week that shows the fracturing of a squad that had won the previous four Premier League titles. As defeat to Liverpool continues a wretched run of form, Walker is shown reacting to Guardiola's criticism and then losing his temper when the manager tells him he doesn't understand.
“If you keep saying my name in every meeting and every f****** thing you make it impossible. You're going to get a reaction. Every f****** meeting it's my name,” he says. Having captained the side to glory as they won the title in 2024, Walker would leave on loan six months later and left permanently for Burnley the following summer.
Documentary reveals season turmoil
The documentary, called A Beautiful Obsession, follows life at City as their season falls apart after Guardiola's belief that his squad can push through for another season quickly comes back to haunt the club. There are several bruising encounters between the manager and his players in the dressing room during and after matches, although Walker's is the most startling row.
Walker's departure saw Guardiola change the habit of his previous nine years at City and insist on picking the club captain himself for his tenth and final year in charge. Bernardo Silva took over from Walker and skippered the team to the FA Cup and Carabao Cup trophies before leaving for Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer.
A Beautiful Obsession launches exclusively on Prime Video in UK & Ireland 19 August 2026.
