Kyle Walker's confession that unleashed the fury of Manchester City fans

Not even being in the Club World Cup final calms the waters at Manchester City. In a year where Pep Guardiola's team is fourth in the Premier League and is constantly compared for its performance with the previous season, Kyle Walker's statements have brought a new reason for division.

The captain of the Citizen team spoke loud and clear about the place this team will have in the history of English and world football, pointing out that much more still needs to be done. The problem was that he used his biggest rivals as an example, something that did not go down well with his squad's followers.

“To be recognized as one of the best clubs in the world we have to win for longer, like Manchester United with Ryan Giggs and the 13 league titles,” said Walker, who this season was very close to leaving City to sign for Bayern Munich. The phrase quickly went viral, being strongly criticized by some followers, who did not understand how the Englishman used United as an example of greatness. 

Such was the impact of the sayings, that the player himself had to come forward to respond to the messages. "I accept it. It's natural. I have a mom and dad who care about me. They worry about me when they 'hit' their son. I just feel that football is fickle, people have a short memory. “Keep hitting me and I will continue to get stronger,” he said rudely on social media. A powerful phrase, which also points to how easily hate messages spread on the internet.

The last piece of the puzzle

Finally, she elaborated on his statement. “I have received a lot of criticism from fans for being captain and how all the bad results are my fault. But we are a team. If I wanted to practice a sport alone, I would play tennis or golf,” he concluded. Manchester City will play this Friday in the Club World Cup final against Fluminense, in what will be their first opportunity to be global monarchs. The matchup will measure the Champions League champion against the winner of the Copa Libertadores.