Kyle Walker will not get sympathy - but he deserves a better Man City end
For years, Manchester City have found the perfect way to say goodbye to their best players.
Sergio Aguero enjoyed a record-breaking end to his career despite an injury-riddled season, Vincent Kompany left after winning every domestic trophy that year and in Ilkay Gundogan's final game before leaving in 2023 he captained them to the Treble.
Kyle Walker, Gundogan's successor, is set for the opposite - an exit that is cheered rather than mourned. The Blues defender has asked sporting director Txiki Begiristain to 'explore his options' for a move abroad, and Pep Guardiola saw fit to leave him out of the squad for their FA Cup romp over Salford City.
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The manner of the request, asking to leave during the biggest collective slump in results in the Guardiola era, will further sour Walker's reputation with fans who will be happy to see him go. He has never really been a popular captain among the fanbase since his appointment in 2023, and things have only worsened over time.
And that is sad, because - as Guardiola says - Walker has been an immense part of the success that City have had since 2017. He was seen as a ludicrous signing when City paid Spurs £50m for him that year, yet he and a number of other arrivals that summer instantly transformed the team into the best ever seen in the history of the Premier League.
It hasn't always been highs, and the writing looked on the wall in the Treble season when Guardiola declared that he couldn't play the style that the team had set upon. But the former Sheffield United youngster is a fighter, and after being tempted by Bayern Munich he put his all into the City captaincy last season and made history as the Blues became the first team in English football to win four consecutive titles.
This may not be the end, but not only does it feel like it it also feels like a parting is necessary. Nobody could condone the vile racist abuse Walker got in the wake of he Juventus defeat, yet his relationship with the fanbase is strained in the extreme and Guardiola does not feel that he can currently select him.
Life isn't perfect - and Walker's off-field life has and continues to make unwelcome headlines - and sometimes you don't get to write your own script. If the 34-year-old does leave this month, it will not have been a happy final chapter of his City career.
Once the dust settled though, that shouldn't take too much away from what has come before.
