The Burnley defender took to Instagram this week to shut down a story that had spread quickly across football media.

“Just to clear up the misleading headlines today. I’ve never had any intention of removing my Manchester City tattoos,” Walker wrote.

The clarification followed a radio appearance on talkSPORT, where the 36-year-old had been asked how he would feel about his “4 in a row” tattoo if City were stripped of titles after being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules.

“Well, I’m probably going to have to do that bit,” Walker told the station. “I’ll try and keep it on, but hopefully we don’t get things taken away.”

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That line was enough to launch a wave of headlines about the England international planning to erase the ink.

The piece on his leg

The tattoo in question reads “4 in a row” and marks City’s run of four consecutive Premier League titles from the 2020-21 to 2023-24 campaigns, a streak no other club has matched in the competition.

It sits alongside other Manchester City-themed body art Walker had done during his eight years at the Etihad Stadium between 2017 and 2025, a spell in which he collected 15 major honours including six league titles.

‘The memories will always stay with me’

In the fuller Instagram message, Walker leant into the sentimental side of his City years.

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“My time at City was a huge part of my career and journey as a player, and something I’ll always be incredibly proud of,” he wrote.

“I shared some unbelievable moments with great teammates, people at the club and of course the City fans, who supported us throughout. Those memories will always stay with me. As will the tattoos.”

On talkSPORT, Walker had also tried to balance loyalty to the dressing room with an acknowledgement of how the case looks from outside.

“It doesn’t look great. Let’s not hide from the fact that they’ve been found guilty, but they’re going through an appeal.”

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“As a player all I can say is all we did is go out and play our best as a team and I’ll defend the players for the rest of my life, because I feel what we did and achieved in that time was incredible and probably won’t be done ever again.”

City’s guilty verdict and the appeal

The backdrop to all of this is the independent commission’s ruling on 30 September 2026, when City were found guilty of 114 of 115 Premier League financial charges, according to Al Jazeera.

The charges covered the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons and included inflating revenues through what the Premier League called “sham” commercial contracts to hide more than £900m of funding tied to the club’s Abu Dhabi owners.

Possible sanctions range from a fine or points deduction to relegation or expulsion. Title stripping is on the table in theory, though the final punishment will be set at a separate hearing after the appeal.

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City deny wrongdoing and have moved to challenge the ruling. The sanctions phase cannot start until that process is complete, meaning the fate of the four titles behind Walker’s leg tattoo will not be decided for some time yet.

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