Kyle Walker has revealed how his father would “make him cry” after every football game as he spoke about his difficult childhood in a candid new interview.
The 34-year-old professional footballer, who grew up on Lansdowne Estate in Sheffield, revealed how his upbringing on a council estate has influenced his own upbringing and how he wants to “instill some of it” in his own children.
Kyle has four children with his wife Annie Kilner: Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, Reign, five, and Rezon, four months. He also has two children with Lauryn Goodman.her four-year-old son Kairo and her 12-month-old daughter Kinara.
The athlete admitted that while he used to “hate” his father’s parenting style, he now doesn’t let his own children win when they play football in the garden.
Talking about Sounds of the BBC On his podcast, You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker, he explained: “I hated going to watch football with my dad. It didn’t matter if he was playing well or badly, I would get in the car and cry.”
Kyle Walker has told how his dad made him “cry” after every football game as he spoke about his tough childhood in a candid new interview (pictured from last month)
The professional footballer, 34, who grew up on Lansdowne Estate in Sheffield, revealed how his upbringing on a council estate has influenced his own upbringing (pictured with parents Michael and Tracey)
His father, Michael, was originally from Jamaica and moved to England when he was a teenager. He met his mother, Tracey, shortly after. He has two brothers: Trey and Zamir Walker.
Kyle continued: “I don’t blame him for that because he made me the person and the player that I am. I always want to prove people wrong and at the beginning of my career, it was my dad that I was trying to prove wrong. He did it because he cared.”
‘I don’t let my kids win now. If I keep letting them win, when they lose it will be traumatic for them. We play football games in the garden and I give my all because that will instil that in them, they will be better people and become winners.
‘My father’s parents were from Jamaica and they left him in England with £200 and a washing machine when he was 17. So he passed all that on to me from his parents.
“I try not to do the same thing as much as possible. But what he taught me about being a winner, I try to pass on to the kids.”
Speaking openly about living in the apartments, Kyle recalled seeing fires and dead bodies, but still “sometimes wishes” he could put his children in a development.
He said: “A guy had put petrol in through the door and someone threw a match inside. I was on the third floor, the caretakers put a blanket underneath and were catching the children while their mother threw them to the ground. She died there.”
Kyle, who earns around £160,000 a week, insisted his children are not spoilt and “have to entertain themselves”.
“I say that now we have the privilege of having nice things but the children have to entertain themselves. They play with their siblings and that’s it,” she said.
Kyle shares four children with wife Annie Kilner: Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, Reign, five, and Rezon, four months (Annie pictured last month).
He also has two children with ex Lauryn Goodman: four-year-old son Kairo and one-year-old daughter Kinara.
He added: “Sometimes I wish I could put them in a housing estate so they could mix with different people and have different friends. When I was a kid, I would go and call my friends.”
Kyle is currently struggling to save his relationship with Annie, 32, after having not one but two children with Lauryn during their marriage.
Annie kicked him out of their £4million family mansion in Cheshire once the truth was exposed, leaving Kyle stuck renting accommodation for six months.
A source told MailOnline that Kyle is living between the apartment and his family home as he and Annie continue to work on their relationship.
The source said: ‘Kyle is between houses at the moment as he only rented a flat for six months when he and Annie split in January.
‘As the relationship is still being worked on, he has made the decision to divide his time between both places, to be close to work and training and, at the same time, maintain the relationship with his family.
‘Annie, Kyle and the boys had a fun summer together that helped them overcome their problems and maintain some normalcy for their four children. Kyle treated Annie to a wonderful barbecue on the beach on her birthday and those special moments mean the world to them.
‘They continue to work on what their future will look like as a couple with their children at the forefront of their minds.’
In July, Lauryn lost her child support battle with the footballer after a tumultuous series of months.
The athlete admitted that while he used to “hate” his father’s parenting style, he now doesn’t let his own children win when they play football in the garden.
Kyle, who earns around £160,000 a week, also insisted his children are not spoilt and “have to entertain themselves”.
In An interview with The sun on SundayThe influencer described Kyle as a man who wanted to “have everything he had and eat it” and instead of being the “gold digger” she has been portrayed as, she is simply trying to do right by her children.
She said: “Sometimes I get tired of all the criticism, but I don’t regret having fought to financially protect my children from a wayward father.”
Last month, an extraordinary court ruling accused Lauryn of using Kyle as “an open checkbook” and “repeatedly threatening him to get what she wanted.”
She said that while her recent court hearing had portrayed her as someone with an “insatiable greed and relentless pursuit of money”, she maintained that she is financially solvent thanks to her work as an influencer and regular appearances on television shows.