Manchester City captain Kyle Walker has joined AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the season, the two clubs confirmed on Friday.
Milan announced in a statement that the deal includes an option to buy the 34-year-old England right-back, with Sky Italy reporting the purchase would cost approximately £4.2 million ($5.24 million).
Walker, who joined Manchester City from Tottenham Hotspur in 2017, made 319 appearances for the club. His last outing came in their 4-1 Premier League victory over West Ham United on January 4.
However, he was left out of City’s squad for their 8-0 win over Salford City in the FA Cup third round a week later. Manager Pep Guardiola revealed the defender had asked to “explore options to play abroad.”
Kyle Walker signed a three-year contract extension in 2023, leaving him with 18 months on his current City deal. During his time at the club, he contributed to all six Premier League titles won under Guardiola. However, he departs amid a challenging period for the reigning champions, who are currently fifth in the league, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.
City’s Champions League campaign is under threat following their 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Walker, who has earned 93 caps for England, was the only England player named in the Euro 2024 team of the tournament after playing every minute in Germany, where the Three Lions finished as runners-up to Spain. He was also part of England’s leadership group during the tournament.
Kyle Walker’s departure follows an active transfer window for City. On Wednesday, they signed Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt, adding to the earlier acquisitions of 19-year-old Brazilian defender Vitor Reis and Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
