Kyle Walker has revealed he told his Manchester City teammates ahead of the Champions League final against Inter Milan that they had worked too hard this season to 'throw it away' at the last hurdle.
His words certainly had the desired effect as City defeated thee Italian side 1-0 in Istanbul to win the Champions League for the first time and claim a historic treble. A sweet strike from Rodri in the second half was the difference against an Inter side who had their own chances to triumph but were denied by Ederson.
Walker didn't start the match due to a technical decision but he hid his disappointment from his teammates and instead supported them with a galvanising pre-match speech.
"Being a leader. Obviously, I'm always going to be disappointed when I'm not playing but I'm 33 now and my example sets on to the younger lads. I made the speech before they went out and I was true to my word," he told BT Sport
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"I said my dreams in your hands, it's as simple as that. No pressure! There's no pressure but you can't say that Inter deserve it more than we did or we deserve it more than Inter did. We're both here by merit, commiserations to them, but there has to be a loser.
"I said to the lads we have to make sure that we leave everything on that pitch. We can't work as hard as we have done all season to throw it away. I thought the lads dug deep tonight. Emotions played a bit. I think the occasion is obviously going to get to you but to come away... I got a silver one last time so to have a gold one is fantastic.
"I'm over the moon. I'm very rarely speechless but my dream has just come true. To achieve this with this club, for everything they've done for every single one of us over the year and to achieve the treble is unbelievable
"It was emotional but this means so much to me. I've been here six years now. To give me what it's given me and to experience the experiences I've experienced in football I'll be forever in debt.
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