‘Every meeting it’s my name’ - How Walker made Guardiola shed tears in heated argument

The incident ultimately contributed to the defender's departure from the club, having played only seven more games before joining AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 season. 

The Treble-winning right-back, who made over 300 appearances for City, left permanently in the summer of 2025 to join Burnley. 

Guardiola himself departed at the end of the 2025/26 season, a year before his contract was due to expire, having secured six Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy among his many honours.

The confrontation, captured in the Prime Video series ‘A Beautiful Obsession’, occurred in the Anfield dressing room following a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in December 2024. 

The footage shows an incensed Walker accusing Guardiola of singling him out for criticism just days after the manager had signed a new contract.

“You keep saying my name every meeting,” Walker is seen shouting at his manager. “Every f*ing meeting it’s my name.”

When Guardiola countered that Walker's name was mentioned frequently because he was a captain, the England international retorted, “You didn’t want me to be a captain.” 

He continued, “I’ve reacted to someone else, I’ve lost the ball, you somehow bring my name into it.”

The documentary, which chronicles Guardiola’s final two seasons at City, shows the Catalan coach struggling to contain his emotions as he addressed the entire squad after Walker's outburst.

“If I am a problem, you have to tell me,” Guardiola said in an impassioned speech. "I won’t stay here for the money or just for the fact of staying. 

“I extended the contract because I want to be with you, I want to fight in that position. I don’t want you to feel like I’m leaving and running away from you.”

Visibly emotional, he added: “I don’t want to have the feeling that the pieces fall down. And I feel ‘No, I want to help you.’ But if you feel, captains first and then the other ones, that there is a problem? Tell me. 

“It’s not going to change the love I have for all of you. Not one second. But I want to fight. That’s all. I’m sorry.”