Inside Kyle Walker & Annie Kilner’s move to Milan to put sex scandals behind him – but will he escape Lauryn Goodman?
TOUCHING down in Italy to embark on a new chapter of his career, Kyle Walker now wants to say “arrivederci” to his scandals back home.
The England defender, 34, sealed his loan move to Serie A giants AC Milan on Thursday after eight highly successful but incident-packed years with Manchester City.
He hopes to start afresh by moving away from the goldfish bowl of Cheshire and the constant noise surrounding his dalliances with Lauryn Goodman — mistress and mother of his two love-children.
Kyle’s marriage to embattled wife Annie Kilner, 33, is dangling by the thinnest of threads.
An insider told The Sun: “Annie has made it clear to friends she is making the move to Italy for the sake of her family, telling them, ‘I’m doing it for the boys’.
“Getting away from the UK and the noise surrounding Kyle’s sex scandals is what they desperately need. They feel smothered.
“It’s been a traumatic 12 months and they now just want to put it behind them and attempt to lead some sort of normal existence for a while.”
Last night Kyle said on Instagram: “Signing for this incredible club in 2017 was a dream come true.
“Seven years later, winning 17 trophies . . . is something I could only have dreamt as a child.
“To my teammates: from the moment I walked through the door, thank you for the great memories and all the success we have shared.
‘Annie feels terrorised by it all’
“To [manager] Pep Guardiola, thank you for believing in me . . . your guidance has helped shape me into the player I am today. I’ll be forever grateful.
“To Annie and all my family who have been there and supported me on this journey, thank you.
“Lastly, to the fans — thank you for embracing me as one of your own from day one.”
The insider added: “Annie is still intent on going through with the divorce, which Kyle won’t oppose, but the longer they remain together, the more chance they have of eventually reconciling against the odds.
“Kyle accepts that he is taking his problems with him and won’t ever escape what he has done.
“This is an opportunity for him to get some breathing space and for the couple to work out their next steps.”
Annie and their four boys will fly to Italy by private jet from Manchester Airport ahead of Milan’s Serie A showdown against Parma tomorrow.
They will be in the San Siro to watch Kyle unveiled to the Rossoneri but will return to the UK hours later as Kyle settles into life in Milan with his new teammates.
The star cannot play for the seven-time European champions until next month, due to Brexit red tape.
The full-back’s new club is finding the couple and their four children a mansion to live in, rather than a hotel, which is a more common move for new signings.
The pair are already eager to start getting used to Italian culture.
For now, Annie is said to be keen to maintain their kids’ schooling in the UK until they have found a home in Milan — but that will hinge on Kyle securing a permanent move.
Annie will begin making plans, while back in the UK, to move the family.
She is keen for them to begin a new life abroad as soon as possible — once schools have been identified and they have worked out where they want to live.
In the meantime, they expect to fly between the UK and Italy, to be with Kyle as he begins the next chapter in his footballing career.
Once they do find a home, would-be interior designer Annie will have the chance to put her own stamp on the property and turn it into a proper home, where their three eldest children Roman, 12, Riaan, eight, and six-year-old Reign, will be home-schooled, while she dotes over five-month-old Rezon.
If the move to Milan works out, sparking an extended spell beyond this season — his £4.2million loan deal includes an option for him to stay permanently until 2027 — it is likely they will be enrolled in a top international school nearby.
The move to Italy also means that the couple will have put several countries between themselves and reality star Lauryn, 34, who continues to make their lives a misery.
The influencer has told pals she wants to follow the footballer wherever he goes in a bid to force him to have a relationship with their two young kids — Kairo, four, and one-year-old Kinara.
And that is despite Kyle paying for her £2.4million West Sussex mansion and providing £12,500 a month in child maintenance.
They could go to the ends of the Earth and still not escape Lauryn
An insider
The insider added: “They could go to the ends of the Earth and still not escape Lauryn.
“Because of what he’s done, she is going to be in their lives for a long time to come and there’s nothing they can do about it.
“It’s all Annie thinks about. She feels terrorised by it all and worries constantly about what Lauryn is likely to do next.”
Kyle informed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola of his wish to move abroad earlier this month after he was left out of the Premier League champions’ squad for their FA Cup third-round clash against Salford City, despite being fit and available to feature.
The Catalan manager said at the time: “Two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career.
“He arrived eight years ago with us and we start to win, win, win, win, and he has been important for the national team and, of course, with our team.
“But he has said he wants to explore in his mind and in his heart.”
The switch comes 12 months after the defender told The Sun in a bombshell interview in January last year that he was close to agreeing a move to top German outfit Bayern Munich in July 2023 to escape his looming baby scandal.
Packed with lavish nightclubs and bars
Clubs in the lucrative Saudi league were first mooted as his likely destination, buoyed perhaps by an expensive impending divorce.
But Kyle’s determination to remain playing at the top level and win 100 caps for England (he’s just seven appearances away from the feat) under new boss Thomas Tuchel made the move to Italy a more attractive option.
And he did not need much persuasion to join, as both Milan clubs — AC Milan and Inter — are top-tier sides, while the city is regarded as a Wags’ paradise.
After all, it is the home of luxury fashion brands including Prada, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci, and their respective stores are commonly visited by Wags with expensive tastes who also compete for front-row seats during the star-studded Milan Fashion Week shows.
The cosmopolitan nightlife is also a big pull, as locals identify with the “work hard, play hard” mantra, while the city is packed with lavish nightclubs and bars, often frequented by footballers and their glamorous partners.
Kyle and Annie will have help settling into their new surroundings courtesy of AC Milan’s English trio Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori.
Striker Tammy, 27, who joined Milan from Serie A rivals Roma, has a long-term partner in lifestyle blogger Leah Monroe, 25, and is the father of her one-year-old son Amari.
His former Chelsea teammates Ruben, 29, and Fikayo, 27, both appear to be single.
But they have been previously linked with Love Island stars Amber Davies and Amber Gill respectively.
The two Milan clubs currently possess some of Italy’s most talked-about Wags, who will soon be mingling with the Walkers at the San Siro — the iconic 80,000-seater stadium both teams share.
Annie feels terrorised by it all and worries constantly about what Lauryn is likely to do next
An insider
Stunning Instagram model Agustina Gandolfo, 29, is the wife of Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, 27 — the Argentinian striker who won the World Cup alongside Lionel Messi in Qatar in 2022.
The blonde boasts her own brand as a fitness and healthy lifestyle expert — and an impressive one million followers on Instagram.
She also runs her own restaurant in Milan called Coraje.
A regular sight in the Wags’ section at Walker’s AC Milan, meanwhile, is tattooed model Zoe Cristofoli, partner of French defender Theo Hernandez, 27.
The influencer, 29, loves getting inked so much she even owns her own parlour Ink Studio Lagrange, based in Turin. She is also a part-time DJ.
Then there’s Ilaria Belloni, the partner of Kyle’s new captain with the Rossoneri, Davide Calabria, 28.
The pair are considered to be one of Italy’s most glamorous couples and have attended Milan Fashion Week’s Giorgio Armani catwalk show together.
And with a Master’s degree in marketing, communication and digital strategy, Ilaria, 28, is no ordinary Wag.
The city’s footie partners are also no strangers to their own sex scandals.
The wife of former Inter striker Mauro Icardi, 31, was rumoured to have been having an affair with his teammate Marcelo Brozovic, 32, which forced the Argentinian striker out of the club in 2019.
Wanda Icardi, 38, who was previously married to her husband’s international teammate Maxi Lopez, 49, sued an Italian gossip website for allegedly claiming the pair enjoyed a steamy affair.
By the sounds of it, Kyle’s going to fit right in.