‘I was wrong’: Gary Lineker says he really upset £50m player when he left Tottenham

Kyle Walker is undoubtedly one of the best full-backs in world football these days, but, once upon a time, he wasn’t seen as such an incredible talent.

Indeed, while Walker was at Tottenham, many questioned his technical ability as he largely relied on his pace and defensive nous rather than his creativity or ability to attack.

Of course, Walker eventually left Tottenham and took his game to the next level under Pep Guardiola, but when Walker left Spurs, Gary Lineker had a bit of a dig on social media, stating that he’d have been worth much more than £50m if he could cross a ball.

Speaking on The Rest is Football, Lineker has now stated that this tweet actually upset Walker at the time, and that he had to apologise to him further down the line when he saw him at a charity function.

The pundit spoke about the defender.

“Speaking of Kyle Walker, I kind of upset him a little bit. When he left Spurs, and obviously I’m a bit of a Spurs man, he left for about £50m, and I tweeted something like ‘what a player, imagine what they’d have had to have paid if he could cross a ball.’ I shouldn’t have done it and it upset him a little bit. I saw him at an event for Vincent Kompany’s charity, and I said two things to him, one, you’re one hell of a player and two, I shouldn’t have said that. I was wrong,” Lineker said.

Lineker may have had a dig at Walker when he left Tottenham, but it’s the right-back who has had the last laugh.

Indeed, Walker has since blossomed into one of the very best defenders the Premier League has ever seen, and his crossing ability now really can’t be called into question.

Walker has improved immensely since going to Man City, and we can’t help but praise him for his development over the past few years.