Kyle Walker has taken to social media to rubbish claims he 'failed to turn up' for Manchester City's match with Brentford.
Pep Guardiola revealed over the weekend that the England defender, 34, had asked for permission to explore a move abroad in the January transfer window, with Walker then not selected for Tuesday night's dramatic 2-2 draw with the Bees.
In the wake of said match, a City fan account slammed Walker, accusing the Blues captain of 'skipping matches'. But Walker hit back immediately to set the record straight.
He replied: "Failed to turn up? I can’t be at Brentford and training at the same time. You may need to check your sources."
Walker, who was linked with a dream move to Bayern Munich back in 2023 only for City to block said switch, was absent from the Manchester City team that thrashed Salford City 8-0 in the FA Cup.
And Guardiola dropped the bombshell post-match that Walker wanted to pursue a potential move abroad.
"It's not easy for me to say but Kyle is not here because two days ago he asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career," the City chief said. "He asked two years ago after the Treble, when Bayern wanted him, but the offer was not good enough.
"We cannot understand the success we've had these years without Kyle. It's impossible. Having a right-back (like him) gave us something that we didn't have and he has been amazing. But now he would like to explore it, to go to another country, to play the last years (somewhere else) for many reasons.
"For that reason, I prefer to play other players whose mind is here. Kyle went to Txiki Begiristain. Maybe I am wrong but I am pretty convinced that you should keep no-one who doesn't want to be here.
"Kyle asked to explore. It doesn't mean it's going to happen, you never know. I respect him a lot because I'm more than grateful for what he has done since he arrived eight years ago."
AC Milan are among some of the top European sides who have been linked with Walker in recent days. The defender has made over 300 appearances for City, winning six domestic titles and the Champions League.