Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has opened up about the emotional moment former Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas was sacked in December 2013, revealing that the Portuguese coach broke down in tears when delivering his farewell to the squad.
Speaking on the latest episode of the You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker podcast, the 34-year-old reminisced about his time at Spurs and described Villas-Boas as “so, so nice.” Walker, who spent eight years at Tottenham from 2009 to 2017, recounted how deeply the team was affected by the departure of their manager.
“I’ve got tears running down my eyes… Michael Dawson is welling up,” Walker shared, emphasising how much Villas-Boas meant to the players. He noted that the moment would stay with him forever, as it was a rare instance of seeing such a strong emotional reaction from both the manager and the team.
Villas-Boas took charge of Tottenham in July 2012 and nearly led the club to a Champions League spot in his first season, finishing just one point behind Arsenal. His squad featured the 2012-13 PFA Player of the Year, Gareth Bale, who later made a record-breaking move to Real Madrid for £85.3 million in the summer of 2013. Despite reinvesting the Bale transfer funds into seven new signings, the team struggled the following season.
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After a series of disappointing results, including a heavy 5-0 defeat to Liverpool in December 2013, Villas-Boas was dismissed by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
“Bale was a massive, massive loss,” Walker said. “They signed seven players off the back of the Bale money. There’s a lot of changes there, and we just never really gelled in time for him [Villas-Boas] to then do well.”
“For 10 or 12 men to be crying because the manager’s gone, he’s done something well in the dressing room.”
