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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Pep Guardiola has revealed that Kyle Walker has asked to leave Manchester City.
The England defender was left out of the squad for the 8-0 win over League Two side Salford City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Bayern Munich offered him a two-year contract. He was convinced to stay after holding a private dinner with Guardiola and later signed a new three-year deal and was made club captain.
Interest from Saudi Arabia last summer came to nothing, but after a poor start to the season with City, the 34-year-old, who arrived from Tottenham in 2017, has lost his place as a regular starter.
“He asked [to leave] two years ago after the treble,” Guardiola said. “Bayern wanted him but the offer was not good enough and the club [told] him how important he is. We cannot understand the success we had these years without Kyle. It’s impossible.
“I respect a lot because I’m more than grateful since he has been [here] many years for us. His first season here, we started to win, win, win , win, win.
“He’s been important for the national team and important for our team but he said that ‘I want to explore, my mind and my heart and I want to explore it’. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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