Who is Kyle Walker? Keep up to speed with Man City’s absolutely rapid £50m captain

Kyle Walker will go down as one of – if not the – best right-backs in English football history.

Walker has been a vital cog in Pep Guardiola’s machine for years and has played a crucial part in all of Manchester City’s recent success.

Starting his career at boyhood club Sheffield United, Walker made his name at Tottenham Hotspur before a big-money move to City saw him get even better on the pitch.

Kyle Walker is well-known for his pace but just how quick is he? Can he beat Kylian Mabppe in a race? Who is his wife and has he actually played in goal for City?

Find out everything you want to know below as we answer all of your frequently asked questions.

How old is Kyle Walker?

Kyle Andrew Walker was born on May 28, 1990, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

As of April 2024, he is 33 years old.

Kyle Walker height and weight

Kyle Walker stands at 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 70kg, according to TNT Sports.

The right-back uses his lean frame to his advantage as he’s able to run at incredible speeds, a pace he hasn’t lost despite being well into his thirties.

Who is Kyle Walker’s wife Annie Kilner? Are they still together?

Kyle Walker married partner Annie Kilner in 2022 after the pair were together for 12 years. The couple have four children.

However, they are now estranged and Walker has moved out of his house to live alone after having a second child with mistress Lauryn Goodman.

Goodman announced in April 2020 that she had given birth and named Walker as the father. The Sun reports Walker promised not to contact Goodman, beyond for financial arrangements, again.

However, Walker has now fathered a second child with Goodman and accepts his marriage is all but over as a result.

Walker told The Sun: “What I’ve done is horrible and I take full responsibility.

“I made idiot choices and idiot decisions. I can’t begin to think or imagine what Annie is going through. I’ve tried to ask her but there’s pain and hurt.

“The man that’s meant to love, care and be there for her, did this.

“There have been days in this ordeal where I’ve just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.

“The only person to blame is me. I have roles and responsibilities that I’m aware of and I’ve made stupid choices. But I need to own up to my mistakes — I owe it to everyone.

“My actions have caused a lot of pain to a lot of people. I’m sorry because, as a family, this isn’t meant to happen.”

Kyle Walker Instagram and X accounts

Kyle Walker has an official Instagram account which has over five million followers.

He also has an official X account where he has 1.8 million followers but hasn’t tweeted since January.

Kyle Walker salary and contract

Kyle Walker earns a weekly salary of £175,000-a-week at Manchester City. The defender decided to prolong his stay at the Etihad Stadium by extending his contract in September 2023.

He earns an annual salary of £9.1m before tax and iscontracted with the club until June 30, 2026.

Kyle Walker club history

Kyle Walker joined local team Sheffield United at the age of seven and rose through the youth ranks before being sold to Tottenham and rejoining the Blades on loan.

How much did Kyle Walker cost Man City?

Manchester City spent an initial £45m to sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur in 2017 as Guardiola looked to revamp his full-back options.

That price increased by a further £5m to a total of £50m.

Kyle Walker stats

Kyle Walker Man City stats

Kyle Walker pre-Man City stats

Kyle Walker England caps

Kyle Walker made his England debut under Fabio Capello in 2011.

Kyle Walker trophies and honours

Kyle Walker has become highly decorated since joining Manchester City.

Man City trophies won

QPR Trophies won

International honours

Kyle Walker personal honours

How fast is Kyle Walker?

Kyle Walker is renowned for his lightning pace but just how quick is he?

Is Kyle Walker the fastest player in Premier League history?

Kyle Walkas has previously been the quickest player recorded in the Premier League as he broke the speed record by running at 37.31 Km/h in a match against Everton in May, 2023.

However, he lost that record this season to Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Micky van de Ven who reached a speed of 37.38 km/h.

That’s according to the Premier League’s official records since data started being collected in 2020/21.

Is Kyle Walker faster than Kylian Mabppe?

Though Kyle Walker is extremely quick and has managed to keep pace with PSG and France star Kylian Mabppe when they have competed in the past, Mbappe has recorded a faster run speed.

According to a study by The Sun in 2022, Mbappe has been clocked running at a speed of 10.6 metres per second, making him the fastest footballer in the world at the time.

Walker did make the top 10 list but he was in seventh place on 9.8 metres per second. He was also behind Gareth Bale, Inaki Williams, Pierre-Emeick Aubameyang, Matthias Fanimo and Antonio Valencia.

Is Kyle Walker Man City captain?

Ilkay Gundogan left Manchester City for Barcelona in the summer of 2023, leaving the captain’s armband vacant for the second pre-season in a row.

Many expected Kevin De Bruyne to be handed the armband as City’s longest-serving player and he did wear it on the opening day of the season against Burnley.

However, the brilliant Belgian lasted just 23 minutes before suffering another hamstring injury that ruled him out for months.

Walker was then voted as the new captain by his teammates with De Bruyne sidelined. He said in a press conference: “The captain’s vote has come in and five captains have been chosen.

“We will lead the team for the foreseeable season and make sure that everyone is in check and fines are paid up.

“It [being captain] is something that I have been very honoured to do. It has been a privilege to lead this special group of players out.

“I will continue to do that and hopefully lead by example on and off the field to make sure that we are lifting trophies come the end of the season.”

De Bruyne would later confirm Walker would remain captain after his return to injury, telling The Athletic: “I’m number two, Walks is number one.”

Did Kyle Walker play in goal for Manchester City?

Yes, Kyle Walker once played in net for Manchester City due to a wild set of circumstances in a Champions League group stage game against Atalanta in 2019.

First-choice goalkeeper Ederson was taken off at half-time due to injury and then replacement Claudio Bravo was sent off late on for taking down a striker as he was clean through on goal.

Walker replaced Riyad Mahrez and came on as an emergency goalkeeper. He saved the resulting free-kick and didn’t concede, with the game ending 1-1.

Is Kyle Walker related to Kyle Walker-Peters?

No, they are not. There are many similarities between the two players but they are of no relation.

The names are the most obvious similarity, given they are nearly identical. The two players also both play at right-back and spent a significant part of their early career at Tottenham.

However, Kyle Walker-Peters, who does have a footballing relative in former Millwall and Charlton player Phil Walker, is not related to Kyle Walker.

How Kyle Walker nearly joined Bayern Munich

Kyle Walker came close to leaving City in the summer of 2023.

He had grown frustrated over his lack of playing time towards the end of the 2022/23 season and publically spoke about his disappointment in not starting the Champions League final triumph over Inter.

Bayern Munich were interested and a deal was reportedly agreed but Walker instead opted to stay and sign a new contract in Manchester.

Revealing how close he came to leaving, Walker said, via The Telegraph: “It was close but in football things can happen.

“Decisions can be made. Things can turn. It wasn’t meant to be.

“Would I have enjoyed the experience? Of course I would have done. But this club is a great club and you can’t underestimate what this club has done in the last six or seven years.

“Everyone goes back to the Champions League final; of course I was disappointed because as a professional you want to play in the big games.

“But I’m not playing a solo sport where it’s tennis or golf and it’s just myself – it’s a team game.

“I have a really good relationship with Pep and he was kind enough to invite me out for food. He paid the bill, for once!

“It was good to know his plans for the future and for this season and what he wants to do. Being one of the senior members – and standing in the captaincy – it was important to get Pep’s views and put my view of what the lads feel for the season coming forward.

“The contract extension is coming. It’s my seventh season here and I feel like one of the old ones – there’s me, Kevin (De Bruyne), John (Stones), Bernardo (Silva) and Eddy (Ederson) from the first couple of seasons when Pep came in.

“I love the place, I’ve experienced things I only dreamed of here – especially the last season – so why would you want to leave a club like this?

“It was about who gave me the most years (on contract), it wasn’t like I was going to a worse club because Bayern Munich is a massive club and seeing what Harry (Kane) is doing there and will do.

“It was just what gave me the years in my contract to play football at the highest level.”