Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting to the latest comments made by Manchester City defender Kyle Walker about his departure from Spurs.
The England international left White Hart Lane for City in July 2017 in a deal worth a reported £45million.
Walker was part of the City side that were knocked out of the Champions League by Spurs on Wednesday night, before they got revenge earlier today (Saturday) with a 1-0 win in the Premier League.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Etihad Stadium game, he appeared to suggest that Spurs wanted to get rid of him when he left the club to join City.
“I wanted to prove they were wrong to sell me," he said.
"I don't want to sound big-headed, but it's not normal for us, we don't tend to lose that many games. It's a big, big kick in the teeth.
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“But we have the likes of David Silva, Kun [Aguero], Kevin [De Bruyne], Fernandinho who get us up, get us together, and it's another important game against Tottenham."
But his comments seem to go against Mauricio Pochettino's version of events.
The Spurs boss in Guillem Balague’s book Brave New World says that Walker informed him before the FA Cup semi-final in 2017 that he wanted to leave.
The extract reads: “Walker came to my office after the Watford game. ‘Gaffer, I’ve been at Tottenham for nine years. I’ve thought about it and my heart isn’t here any more. Nor is my head. I’ve given all I have to give. I wanted to tell you before I tell my agent that I want to leave this summer.’
“Kyle, you have to stay professional. There’s a month and a half of the season to go. We’re battling for the Premier League and FA Cup. We have to be focused and finish the campaign strongly.’
“OK, gaffer. But it’s already decided.’
“Well, that doesn’t just depend on you or me. It depends on the club, above all. You’ve disappointed me because you’ve decided to tell me that you want to leave when there is a month and bit left in the competition.
“You could’ve sucked it up, kept quiet, trained, played and helped the team when not picked and at the end of the season you could’ve come and told me.’”
Walker later responded to the comments in September 2018, claiming Pochettino’s comments were false.
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He said: “I was hurt a lot by that. He said his door was always open and I thought it was a private meeting we had. So I kept quiet but then he went and wrote about it... or his version of it.
“If he was going to do that he might as well have called a press conference and told everyone. He told one side of the story, but it’s a side of a story I don’t agree with.”
Spurs fans were surprised by the defender's latest comments today though and many took to social media.
“I think every Tottenham fan was shocked by his comment,” one tweeted.
Another said: “It’s been 2 years and Kyle Walker is still trotting out the line that it was Spurs’ decision to sell rather than him.”
Here's what some have been saying on social media this afternoon.
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