Man City players ‘owe’ Champions League title to Sheikh Mansour, says Kyle Walker

The Man City defender believes owner Sheikh Mansour’s £1.5 billion investment across 15 years warrants a European title

Manchester City's English defender Kyle Walker reacts (AFP via Getty Images)

Kyle Walker believes Manchester City’s players owe it to Sheikh Mansour to win the Champions League.

City host Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final after drawing 1-1 in the Bernabeu last week, still looking for a first European trophy since their 2008 takeover.

Owner Sheikh Mansour has invested around £1.5 billion in the club in the last 15 years and Walker, one of a host of expensive signings, feels City can still be overshadowed by their neighbours Manchester United until they emulate them by becoming champions of Europe.

The right-back said: “You have to just look over the road at Manchester United and what they have accomplished and when we get compared to that team they won countless titles.

“We have done five [Premier League titles] in six years if we can cross the line on this one, which still isn’t over, but the club is missing that one [the Champions League] and the owners and the amount of money they have pumped in and the investment they have done we owe that to them.”

United have won the European Cup three times, including in 1999 when they did the treble of the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup that City hope to accomplish now.

City are in their fourth Champions League semi-final and have reached one final, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto in 2021.

And Walker added: “To get to the Champions League final against Chelsea and not perform as well as we can, we owe that to ourselves and get some revenge because we know that was below par on that day.”