Kyle Walker Rebuilds Career at Burnley Amid Personal Upheaval, Faces Man City Next

Key Takeaways:

• Kyle Walker secured a return to the Premier League with Burnley after an ill-fated loan spell at AC Milan earlier this year.
• Walker has reconciled with his wife Annie Kilner following significant off-field drama and will make his first return to the Etihad to face Manchester City on Saturday.
• The England international has already established himself as a leader within Burnley’s squad, earning plaudits from manager Scott Parker for his performances.

A Sudden Exit From Manchester City

Kyle Walker’s departure from Manchester City, a key figure throughout the club’s most successful spell, unfolded in unexpected fashion. Pep Guardiola revealed during a post-match press conference following City’s emphatic FA Cup win over Salford City in early January that Walker, then club captain, intended to leave on loan for AC Milan. There was no emotional send-off at the Etihad Stadium; instead, Walker said farewell to City via an Instagram post. He skipped the elaborate farewell gatherings enjoyed by some team-mates, opting for a quiet drinks gathering with a handful of friends and a snowy walk with cans of beer.

The move to Milan failed to bear fruit. AC Milan declined to trigger a permanent deal for just £4 million ($5m), adding another disappointment to a career that had lost momentum. Walker later stated he felt unfairly labelled as the culprit behind City’s struggles last season. Complicating matters further, his personal life – particularly the well-publicised tensions with wife Annie Kilner and mistress Lauryn Goodman – had made headlines, with incidents such as being photographed leaving a nightclub with two women shortly after his wife returned to the UK with their four children.

Find someone who looks at you the way Kyle Walker looks at Armando Broja 😍 pic.twitter.com/OGGj0njzdf

— TurfCast – Burnley FC Fan Channel (@TurfCastPodcast) September 17, 2025

Personal Life in the Spotlight

Walker’s turbulent relationship with Annie Kilner traces back to their childhood in Sheffield, starting when Walker was 17 and Kilner 15. The pair welcomed their first son Roman in 2011, followed by Riaan in 2016 and Reign in 2019. However, their relationship was repeatedly tested by scandals. In April 2020, Lauryn Goodman, a model and influencer, gave birth to Walker’s son Kairo. That period also saw Walker make headlines for breaking lockdown rules by hosting a party with escorts.

A reconciliation with Kilner led to marriage in 2022; yet, within a year, Walker fathered a daughter, Kinara, with Goodman, keeping the news from Kilner for four months before publicly admitting his infidelity in January 2024. As Walker told The Sun in a direct quote: “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. There have been days in this ordeal where I’ve just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.”

Performance on the Pitch Amid Scandal

Remarkably, Walker managed to maintain his high-level performances on the football pitch despite the relentless scrutiny. Between 2021 and 2024, he helped Manchester City secure four consecutive Premier League titles. His peak arguably came during the 2022-23 treble-winning season, all while managing the personal fallout from his private affairs. Walker fought to regain his spot in City’s starting XI in January 2023, overcoming both tactical doubts from Guardiola and the corrosive effects of his off-field controversies.

Noteworthy displays included shackling Vinicius Jr as City dismantled Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals, and nullifying Marcus Rashford in the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Despite additional scandals involving further public misconduct, Guardiola convinced Walker to reject Bayern Munich and sign a contract extension, appointing him captain after a dinner at an exclusive Japanese restaurant. Even as news broke of another child with Goodman and being ejected from his family home, Walker retained his trademark recovery speed, playing a vital role as City won a fourth consecutive title.

🙌 Players who hit the ground running this season.

🤔 Who did we miss out? pic.twitter.com/sHXeIOSa2y

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) September 24, 2025

City Captaincy and Subsequent Struggles

Walker wore the captain’s armband as City entered a turbulent phase later in 2024. Soon after Kilner gave birth to their fourth son, Rezon, and filed for divorce in October, City’s fortunes spiralled. In the two weeks following the split, City experienced their worst run in 18 years, losing nine of 12 matches. Walker was widely criticised, particularly for his performance in City’s 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham, where Timo Werner outpaced him for the final goal.

Age and injury, compounded by the wear and tear of multiple title-winning seasons and a muted summer of squad reinforcements, contributed to his decline. Walker reflected on his scapegoated status in The Telegraph: “I don’t want to say scapegoat because I don’t want to bring out the violins. But I was the captain and the team wasn’t doing well. There were big players missing in big periods in that season and I felt just like I was getting…not blamed. I won’t say ‘blamed’ but I felt I was the excuse because I was the captain.”

Despite feeling pressure to relinquish the armband, Walker stood firm: “I’m not going to go into too much detail on those conversations. But I wasn’t prepared to give that up. I’ve got to stand for my rights and I think I earned being the club captain and I thought I did a good job leading the team to the fourth Premier League.”

The Milan Episode and Return to England

Having been selected as captain through a squad vote that manager Guardiola later admitted to disagreeing with, Walker saw the captaincy process overhauled; for the subsequent season, Guardiola appointed Bernardo Silva directly. Walker lost his spot in the side to Matheus Nunes and saw an opportunity in Milan. The offer, delivered via a call from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, proved too tempting to refuse, though Walker later confessed in The Telegraph that “probably” he should have remained with his City team-mates to “come through the sticky patch together.”

Walker’s spell at Milan proved disappointing: he ultimately lost his place to 19-year-old Alex Jimenez, and the club endured an eighth-place finish in Serie A. Off the pitch, Walker’s stay in Milan involved further tabloid attention, including reports of an evening spent with Serbian models in March.

Stabilising at Burnley

Back in England, Walker and Kilner have rekindled their relationship, having spent holidays together in Ibiza and the United States. Burnley offered him both a return to the Premier League and proximity to his family, with eldest son Roman involved in the club’s academy. According to The Sun, the family are considering buying a new home and extending their brood.

Upon signing for Burnley, Walker said: “At this stage of my career, being at a great club [City] for a number of years. I went overseas and tried that out, but I just felt I needed something that was a family club… I’ve been around the place and my son is training at the training ground and you can feel the aura around there and what the owners are trying to do and I wanted to be a part of that. I want to be a part of the success.”

Burnley manager Scott Parker, Walker’s former Tottenham team-mate, played a key role in convincing him to make the move. “I respect people’s hard work and dedication that they put into the game that we all completely love… he called me and I loved everything he said. He brought it back to like when we were team-mates.”

Walker’s Impact at Burnley

Entrusted with a leadership role at the opposite end of the table, Walker has already helped Burnley secure four points from five games, with only narrow stoppage-time defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United separating them from an even stronger start. He impressed in encounters against the reigning champions and delivered a standout performance in the draw with Nottingham Forest.

Parker praised his influence: “Kyle was every bit of the player that we expected to come in today. A driving force for us. At the end, he was on fumes and there is something in him that he has to push.”

Walker’s Recent Clubs: Timeline and Stats

Looking Ahead

At nearly 36 years of age, Walker’s playing future remains uncertain. However, as he prepares to return to the Etihad on Saturday for Burnley’s upcoming fixture against Manchester City, he does so seemingly settled and content, both professionally and personally, after years of turmoil.