Former captain Kyle Walker has insisted the seismic verdict against Manchester City in the 115 charges case cannot take away the trophies from the players. City have appealed the decision of the independent commission, which said more than £830million of owner funding was used to inflate revenues and enable the club to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules through a series of “sham” arrangements over a nine-year period.
Walker's eight-year spell at the Etihad
Walker was an integral part of City's success during his eight-year stay at the Etihad from 2017 until 2025, winning the Champions League and 12 domestic trophies during his time with the Blues. He left under a cloud when he joined AC Milan on loan while City were struggling in the 2024-25 campaign and he subsequently joined Burnley, who were relegated to the Championship last season.
Walker's personal response
“Obviously it doesn’t look great. I know it’s in an appeal stage so, for me to start commenting on the legal action and everything like that, probably it’s not going to do myself justice or anyone involved in it,” said Walker speaking on talkSPORT.
“But, at a personal level, I can say the lads, we spent many and many a great year celebrating many trophies and everything like that and that’s something that, whatever happens, they can’t take away from us because we’ve experienced them nights. So, whatever will be, will be, and it’s just down to the appeal now and what goes from there.”
Difficult subject for former players
He added that it would not be an easy subject for former City players to discuss: “It’s something that we probably don’t want to talk about because we want to be looked upon as winning them trophies, winning them the right way. It’s very difficult because we’ve worked very hard for them, and not just us, I look at the fans as well. I look at the fans that have travelled up and down the country, travelled abroad to Istanbul when we won the treble and stuff like that, and they deserve that night as well.”
