Saturday 9 May 2015 15:29, UK
As Yaya Toure’s agent tells Sky Sports News HQ the player is ‘90 per cent certain’ to leave Manchester City this summer, we look back at some key moments in his five years with the club.
From two title wins and an FA Cup triumph to falling short in the Champions League and not getting a suitable birthday cake when he turned 31, it’s been a mixed time for Toure at the Etihad since he signed for £24m from Barcelona in July 2010…
Fires Man City to FA Cup glory in his first season
Roberto Mancini described Toure as “another magnificent signing for Manchester City” when he bought him from Barcelona – and the younger brother of then club captain Kolo had an immediate impact in his first season.
City secured Champions League qualification with a third-place finish in the league and the Ivorian capped a memorable 2010/11 season with a vital role in their FA Cup triumph.
Toure scored the winner against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final and then hammered home the only goal of the game in the final to defeat Stoke – and secure City’s first major trophy in 35 years.
“Our target was to go to the Champions League and win something and my dream has come true,” he said after his Wembley heroics. “I am so happy for the club and the fans as they have waited a long time for a trophy.”
Sets up dramatic title win in 2011/12
Things got even better for Manchester City fans 12 months later, as they saw their side lift the Premier League trophy for the first-time.
City’s late, late show against QPR on the final day of the season is rightly remembered as the most dramatic title win of the Premier League era. However, Toure’s double against Newcastle on the penultimate day of the season should not be forgotten.
Mancini’s men had achieved a remarkable rise to the top of the table with victory over title rivals Manchester United in their previous game, but needed to win at St James’ Park to set up a final day shot at the crown. Toure delivered – curling in his first with just 20 minutes to play before confirming the result with just a minute left.
“Toure's first goal was special, like the one he scored in the FA Cup final for us last year,” said Mancini. “This one may be more important if we can finish the season off.”
Commits to City and sends them to another FA Cup final
Toure pledged to finish his career at Manchester City by signing a deal which tied him to the club for four more years in 2013.
“This is where I want to be,” he said. “I will never forget how I have been treated here by the fans, the club and the owners and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to finish my career as a Manchester City player.”
Toure then demonstrated his commitment on the pitch 10 days later, producing a man-of-the-match performance to help City defeat Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
However, this time City suffered a shock final defeat to soon-to-be relegated Wigan; a disappointing ending to a season which had also seen them surrender their league title to Manchester United by 11 points and finish bottom of their Champions League group.
Goals galore as City reclaim title – but not enough birthday respect
City and Toure bounced back in stunning style in 2013/14, winning a Premier League-Capital One Cup double, with the Ivorian scoring a stunning equaliser in the Wembley final against Sunderland.
Indeed, Toure’s goal-scoring was a key component of City’s title triumph – he became just the second midfielder in Premier League history to score 20 goals in a season, netted in both Manchester derby victories and bagged his first-ever hat-trick against Fulham.
However, just days after City celebrated their second Premier League title win, a bizarre row erupted when Toure backed his agent’s claims that the club’s owners had shown him a lack of respect on his birthday.
Toure turned 31 the day City flew out to Abu Dhabi to celebrate their league success but despite being presented with a birthday cake on the plane, his agent Dimitri Seluk said Toure was ignored by the owners. “None of them shook his hand on his birthday. It’s really sick,” he said. “It shows they don’t care about him.”
The fallout threw Toure's future at the club into doubt.
Criticised for defending in big games
Toure remained at City last summer but, after a promising start to the defence of their title, City's league challenge has fallen away in dramatic style in the second half of the season. Initially, Toure’s absence at the start of 2015 – as he captained Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations glory – appeared to be a key contributor.
However, since Toure’s return he has played nine, won four and lost five, as City’s Premier League and Champions League challenge collapsed.
Following his 20-goal title-winning season, Toure has managed to find the net just eight times in the Premier League this term – and as a result, other aspects of his game, and especially his defending, have been heavily criticised.
In the 4-2 Manchester derby defeat at Old Trafford – City’s fifth loss in seven games in all competitions – Gary Neville slammed Toure’s marking and claimed he was holding the club back in big matches when played as a traditional central midfielder.
“He can’t play in a two in midfield against any team of quality,” said Neville, who also referred to Toure’s disappointing display in City’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona. “Before the game, I asked ‘is Yaya Toure able to match Marouane Fellaini in that pocket?’ He didn’t. He paid no attention to him at all. It was a complete dereliction of duty.
“There is too much evidence he cannot do his job in the big matches.”
Whether Toure is in the Premier League next season to prove his critics wrong, remains to be seen...
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