Wayne Rooney has criticized Manchester City’s choice to loan out Kyle Walker in January, calling it a baffling move after their dramatic 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s side now faces an uphill battle to progress, having squandered leads twice on Tuesday night.
Erling Haaland put City ahead before Kylian Mbappe responded for Madrid. Haaland’s penalty restored City’s lead, but Brahim Diaz struck in the 86th minute, followed by Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner.
City now need a turnaround at the Bernabeu next Wednesday to reach the last 16, where they could meet either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, Walker is set to start for AC Milan in their Champions League playoff clash with Feyenoord after his January loan move.
Rooney believes Guardiola made a mistake in allowing Walker to leave at such a critical moment. Speaking to Amazon Prime, he highlighted Walker’s long-standing importance to City and questioned the timing of his exit.
“It’s strange to see Kyle Walker leave on loan,” Rooney said. “Akanji isn’t a natural right-back, Rico Lewis is still young, and with City struggling, letting their captain go seems really odd.”
When asked if City should have forced Walker to stay, Rooney agreed. “He’s under contract. As captain, sometimes you have to put the team first. I had a similar situation with Mourinho at United—he asked me to stay until the end of the season to help in the Europa League. It was tough, but I respected it. City should have taken the same approach with Walker.”
Former City defender Gael Clichy echoed Rooney’s sentiments, pointing to the club’s history of making tough decisions on player departures.
“City has always been ruthless,” Clichy noted. “Look at Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, and Aguero. They let legends go. But in Walker’s case, he offers something no other defender in the squad does. Why let him leave now?”
With City’s Champions League future at risk, Walker’s absence is already being felt, raising further doubts about Guardiola’s decision.