Simon Jordan has told Kyle Walker to “get over” his row with Neal Maupay.
Maupay and Walker clashed during City’s 3-1 Premier League win on Monday night, with the latter furiously reacting to something the Brentford striker said to him in the closing stages of the Premier League clash.
It was unclear exactly what the war of words was about, with both managers Pep Guardiola and Thomas Frank dismissing questions on the incident post-match.
Advert
While it has been widely suggested Maupay may have been making remarks regarding Walker’s private life, former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan insisted the City player should ignore the Frenchman's comments.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Jordan said: “I think it’s unpalatable but it’s the reality of the circumstances. Footballers have been doing it for years, cricket does it, it’s called sledging and it’s part and parcel of the game.
“It’s up to Kyle Walker to rise above it and not be affected by it, because if he is affected by it he’s being affected by the opposition, which he shouldn’t be.
“I wouldn’t do it [what Maupay did], because I think you beat people with talent, you don’t beat people by putting them off their game, but it’s gamesmanship.
Advert
“Maupay is a bit of a wind-up merchant. He was a bit of a big-time Charlie at Brighton and they had problems with him there, and then he goes to Everton where he’s about as useful as a one-legged man in a backside kicking competition because he couldn’t score any goals. Now he’s gone back to Brentford and he’s creating a little bit of mischief around the place.
“But Kyle Walker is an infinitely better player than Neal Maupay will ever be. He’s one of the best full-backs in world football, he’s playing for one of the best teams in world football, he’s an outstanding player and he’s an outstanding England player.
“He’s on a different level to Neal Maupay and the only way players like Maupay can get anything on Walker is getting in their head, and so he’s giving it to him.
“But this idea that in this society we’ve all got to look out for each other - cobblers! It’s a football match, it’s not a village bowling green.
“I think If Kyle allows himself to be affected by that if he’s feeling a bit sensitive about it, then that’s on him.”
Advert
Jordan added: “Kyle has just got to get over it. Neal Maupay is an irrelevance, and he only becomes relevant if you make him relevant. So Walker should have been able to contend with it, he should have been bigger and better and I know Maupay might have said something that was really offensive but so what? Too many people react to what people are saying to them when the people who are saying it are irrelevant.
“You have to own your own decisions and you have to take the consequences of them.
“If you go around kicking cats, as Kurt Zouma did, then people are going to call you a cat kicker - so the moral of the story is don’t kick cats."
Featured Image Credit: Getty/TalkSPORTTopics: Football, Simon Jordan, Kyle Walker, Manchester City, Brentford, Premier League