Guardiola ‘micro-sneer’ revealed in ‘leakage’ as Walker in talks with Serie A side after Man City bombshell

Will Ford
Man City boss Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola looks dejected while watching his team this season.

Pep Guardiola tried to hide his displeasure at Kyle Walker asking to leave Manchester City but the ‘non-verbal leakage’ in his press conference ‘implied quite the opposite’, apparently.

City’s 8-0 win over League Two side Salford in the FA Cup was soured somewhat by Guardiola revealing Walker’s bombshell decision to seek an exit from the club this month.

“It’s not easy for me to say because I should tell him but he’s not here so two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career,” Guardiola said.

“He’s been our right-back, giving us something we didn’t have, but now in his mind he would like to explore to go to another country to play his last years for many reasons. For that reason, I prefer to play other players whose mind is here. He went to Txiki. He asked to explore, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen because you never know the situation.”

READ MORE: Ten Manchester City moves for Pep Guardiola’s perfect January transfer window

The Telegraph claim AC Milan are leading the race for his signature and are said to be ‘confident’ of securing his transfer despite there being no formal contact between the two clubs as yet.

That’s the meat and bones of the story done, but we’re sure you’re very keen on hearing about Guardiola’s ‘dramatic gurn’ and ‘micro-sneer’ picked up by the body language expert employed by Mirror to assess the City manager’s actual thoughts on the matter.

“Guardiola is running two sets of non-verbal signals here,” Judi James said. “The performed gestures that look intended to suggest Kyle’s desire to leave the team is no big deal, and then his micro-gestures and his non-verbal ‘leakage’ that imply the opposite.

“The most dramatic leakage comes when Walker’s name first comes up in the press conference. Until this point Guardiola is looking convivial, with a smiling expression, thanks to the 8-0 win.

“When he’s asked why there is no Kyle Walker in the squad his expression changes to a dramatic gurn. His tongue has been curled up inside his mouth, licking his upper lip in a gesture that suggests he is savoring the taste of victory. But at this mention of Walker’s name the tongue retreats into his mouth, his low jaw juts out, displaying his lower line of teeth, and those teeth bite upward into his top lip.

“His eye-smile dies and for a fleeting moment he seems to reveal inner anguish or anger at the decision.

“There is a micro-sneer with his nostril and a loud sniff and he tuts, throwing his eyes to the side for a long pause for consideration.

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“When Guardiola does respond though he tries to shrug off any idea of drama literally, with a series of shoulder shrugs and a shaking of the head. This peppering his speech with shrugs looks like a diminishing technique to calm things down. When he tells the press ‘Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad’ his brows rise and the convivial eye expression returns but there is also a micro-sneer of his top lip to hint he is less than happy.

“Talking about Walker ‘exploring for many reasons’ he brings his right hand up across his face to hide his expression in a cut-off gesture. Saying quickly ‘He went to Txiki Begiristain, he didn’t speak to me’ he pulls down on his nose with his hand to hint at displeasure.

“Then the shrugging and making light of the story returns as he says, ‘Maybe I died’, shrugging and shaking his head with a rueful smile. His tribute line of being ‘Grateful for what he has done these many years’ comes with a folding of his arms in a barrier gesture.”