The internet has been alight with jokes about Yaya Toure’s birthday snub at Manchester City, but now we have a more concrete look into the mind of the talented midfielder.
In an interview with beIN Sport, Toure said he hopes to end his career at his former club Barcelona.
“Yes, I will say that in front of the camera, I will say it to the news, I would like to one day end my career there [at Barcelona],” Toure said. “Barcelona has always been one of my favorite teams in the world, I think because when I was there all of them were like my brothers.”
He spoke highly of his time at the Nou Camp, where he made 118 appearances between 2007 and 2010 before making a $41 million move to Manchester City, where he’s spent four seasons as their midfield rock. But he still misses his old club.
“When I look at the TV and I look at the Spanish league, I always watch Barcelona, even in the Champions League.”
It’s interesting comments from the Ivorian, whose agent Dimitri Seluk has made scathing comments about Manchester City’s treatment of Toure. And when asked about Seluk’s comments, Toure skirted the question, but still threw his support behind his agent, worrying for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
“I trust him a lot, the main thing is trust, and I just try to focus on the World Cup, and Dmitri knows what he has to do. Everything is open now and the club is talking about me. We will wait until after the World Cup and see where we are.”
Toure played things diplomatically, but he clearly has been chatting internally with his agent, and they are definitely on the same page. It’s unclear what exactly Toure is unhappy with at City, but the likely scenario is he believes he should be paid on the same level as the best in the world, and if City are unwilling to do that, maybe his favorite club Barcelona is.
Also, this afternoon Seluk said Toure would sign back on immediately for Manchester City if they were to offer him a coaching role. He then compared Toure to a child, saying “players are like children, they like a lot of attention.” Way to pump up your client, Dimitri.
