Kyle Walker did not know Manchester City’s victory over his former club Tottenham Hotspur would officially make him a Premier League champion when he left Wembley a vindicated man on Saturday night.

City had beaten Spurs thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, but the party was on ice until Manchester United had suffered a shock defeat to West Bromwich Albion less than 24 hours later.

Walker was well aware, however, that he had one hand on the trophy, and a Carabao Cup winners’ medal already stashed away, when he described the grass as greener at City.

He has got exactly what he wanted, but Walker was not in the mood to gloat. He left Tottenham’s temporary home clutching the shirt of his old team-mate Kieran Trippier and stressed how much he wants Spurs to beat Manchester United in next week’s FA Cup semi-final, and go on to win the trophy.

The 27-year-old believes the current Tottenham squad “deserve” to win silverware and insisted he and Mauricio Pochettio still respect each other – even though there remains a clear difference of opinion over the details of his exit.