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Kyle Walker is returning to the Etihad today for the first time since his summer move from Manchester City to Burnley.
Kyle Walker was given a warm welcome on his return to Manchester City and received a bear hug from Erling Haaland as he prepared to face his former colleagues for the first time.
The full-back is back at the Etihad with Burnley and in the unfamiliar position of taking on players he has won everything there is to win with.
Walker emerged from the tunnel last of the Burnley players and got a pat on the back from captain Ruben Dias and shared a small embrace with Phil Foden. Haaland was last in line of the City players and wrapped both arms around the full-back.
The Clarets' No. 2 then jogged over to the far side of the pitch to clap the away fans, before applauding all four sides of the ground and raising his thumb to the City fans in that section, who responded with a chant of 'one Kyle Walker'.
Walker warmed up without interacting with his former teammates, with Burnley's players out first to begin their preperations and then remaining out on the pitch once City's players had gone back into the dressing room.
The 35-year-old did see some of his former colleagues socially this week, when he went out for Manuel Akanji's farewell after the centre-back returned to Manchester following his season-long loan move to Inter Milan.
Guardiola used his pre-match press conference on Friday to urge City supporters to give Walker a warm welcome back to the club, despite his eight-year stay at the club coming to a disappointing end, with a mid-season loan move to AC Milan and then his permanent switch to Turf Moor this summer.
“The last season was tough for everyone, for him, for all of us,” Guardiola said. “I don’t judge one behaviour over a short period of time. He was unbelievable. One of the greatest full-backs ever. I slept like a baby for the games with Kyle there.
“[He is] one of the greatest in terms of consistency and no injuries and playing every single game, an incredible figure in the locker room. In [eight] years, six Premier Leagues, a Champions League, [many] titles, always being there in good moments and bad moments.
"I’m pretty sure everybody is happy to see him back in a place where he has been an unbelievable figure for us. He has been the right-back that defined our time here for the last nine years. I’m pretty sure he will get the gratitude of our fans because he deserves it."
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