Yaya Toure: Interesting several clubs
Yaya Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk has revealed that several clubs are interested in signing the midfielder and says he intends to hold talks with Manchester City about the Ivorian’s future in the next month.
Reports have gathered pace in recent days that Toure has become increasingly unsettled at City, who have slipped to fourth place in the table after losing four of their last seven Premier League matches.
And he added credence to the rumours of a potential move away from the Etihad after giving an interview to a French publication where he said will always go where he is “offered new challenges.”
The 31-year-old has two years left on a lucrative contract thought to be worth in excess of £10m a year, but Seluk has repeated Toure’s recent claims that money will not be a decisive factor as he weighs up his options.
"We have had different offers for Yaya but we must speak to Manchester City,” Seluk told Sky Sports.
“People think he will stay because of money but we don't care about money. If Man City don't want him - no problem.
“I want someone to say that they want Yaya to stay at Manchester City. Yaya is a legend at the club. All the supporters like him, he's helped them make history.”
Speaking prior to Manchester City’s 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday, manager Manuel Pellegrini refuted suggestions the club could offload Toure at the end of the season.
But the relationship between Toure’s camp and City has come under strain over the last 12 months after the club forgot his birthday last year.
And last week, Seluk described City boss Pellegrini as “weak” while also questioning the club’s transfer policy in recent windows.
Admiration
Toure, who turns 32 on May 13, was bought by former City manager Roberto Mancini from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £24m in July 2010.
The pair have a mutual admiration for one another and Mancini has made no secret of his desire to sign Toure to help Inter Milan’s Scudetto title quest next season, while the Ivorian revealed the 50-year-old Italian is one of the best managers he has played under.
"Mancini is a mentor for me, and a coach out of the ordinary,” Toure said. “It is no secret that I loved when he was my boss, as I like to play for City today."
But Toure insists his City future is not linked to the managerial post at the Etihad, adding he owes it to the club’s fans to stay.
"When I arrived at City, Pellegrini was not the coach,” he added. “Just like the players, managers arrive and leave. As I have said before, I owe it to the City fans to fight until the end of my career at this club.
"My decisions will not be affected by changes in management, but more by the challenges that will be offered to me."
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