Yaya Touré

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the former captain of Ivory Coast national team.
Touré aspired to be a striker during his youth and has played centre back, including for FC Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, however he has spent the majority of his career as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country, where he has been regarded as one of the world's best players. He was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut aged 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. Touré had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, and AS Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 70 matches for the club and was part of the historic 2009 Barcelona side that won six trophies in a calendar year. In 2010 Touré moved to Premier League club Manchester City where he scored a number of key goals for the Citizens – most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final. He also helped City earn their first league title in 44 years.
Touré has a distinguished international career with over 100 caps for the Ivory Coast, representing the team at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also represented Ivory Coast in six Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while captaining them to victory in 2015. He is the younger brother of fellow footballer Kolo Touré. They played together at Manchester City for three years, before Kolo was transferred to Liverpool in 2013.

Touré joined the ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. A prominent figure in the ASEC academy was Jean-Marc Guillou. In 2001 Guillou invested heavily in a Belgian club, Beveren, with the aim of using the team to showcase Ivorian players in a European league. Touré moved to Beveren in 2001, one of many ASEC players to do so in this period; by 2003 he was one of 14 Ivorians in the Beveren squad.

In the summer of 2003, Touré had a trial with Arsenal. He started a pre-season friendly against Barnet on 19 July, playing as a second striker and then moving up front in the second half. Manager Arsène Wenger recognised his talent but could not decide on his best position and described his performance against Barnet as "completely average." The game finished 0–0 and the BBC Sport website said that he "blotted his copy book by missing Arsenal's clearest chance of the game, heading a cross from Quincy Owusu-Abeyie wide." Wenger was still keen to sign the then 20-year-old but Touré had difficulties in getting a work permit. Ultimately, Touré grew impatient and opted to sign for Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk instead, where he spent one-and-a-half years.

Olympiacos

Touré joined Olympiacos in 2005. He was described as "the new Patrick Vieira" by his older brother. Olympiacos won the double that season, and Touré was one of their key players. His performances in Greece were impressive and attracted interest from many clubs.

Monaco

After representing Ivory Coast in the 2006 World Cup, Yaya Touré was signed by French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in August 2006. Yaya had a difficult relationship with the incumbent manager, László Bölöni, with Yaya claiming Bölöni refused to play him in his preferred midfield position. Bölöni was soon sacked with Monaco languishing second from bottom in the league. Laurent Banide replaced him and Yaya became an influential player in the second half of the season, scoring five times to help haul the club out of relegation difficulties. Yaya had established himself as a key midfielder, and with interest from around Europe he decided to join FC Barcelona in the summer of 2007.

Barcelona

Touré playing for Barcelona.

Touré joined Spanish side Barcelona for €10 million (£6.7 million) and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander.

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Inter Milan of Italy, Touré scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 victory. He scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on 2 September 2007, a 3–1 triumph for the Catalans. His first goal in the Champions League for Barça was against Schalke 04 in the 2007–08 quarter-finals, securing a 2–0 aggregate victory and a berth in the semi-finals.

During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Pep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio. In the 2009 Champions League Final, he played centre back due to injuries and suspensions of first-choice defenders, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona. In late June 2010, Barcelona confirmed that Touré would be allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Manchester City

On 2 July 2010, Touré signed a five-year deal with Premier League club Manchester City for a fee of around £24 million and was allocated squad number 42, which is the reverse of the number 24 jersey he sported at Barcelona, since Patrick Vieira had already been allocated that number. The move teamed Touré up with his elder brother Kolo, who signed for City in July 2009 from Arsenal. On 28 July, Touré made his debut for City in a pre-season friendly against Club América, which City won 4–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw with the Mexican side. In his home debut on 7 August, in another friendly match against Valencia CF, he was named man of the match.

2010–11 season

On 14 August 2010, Touré made his Premier League debut in a 0–0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. A week later, Touré impressed in the 3–0 defeat of Liverpool at Eastlands, forming a part of a three-man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong. On 19 September, Touré scored his first goal against Wigan Athletic. The goal was scored in the 70th minute and Touré was assisted by Carlos Tevez, who also scored in that match. Touré had been seen to take up a more attacking position under Roberto Mancini and revelled in the position. He scored a brilliant left-footed drive against West Ham United and soon scored a second, which was later credited as an own goal because the ball rebounded off the post onto Robert Green's back and bounced in.

He scored his third goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a delightful counter-attack move, with Touré making up 90 yards to latch onto the ball and fire it past the goalkeeper, with Manchester City eventually winning 4–3. Touré's fifth goal for City came on 25 February in a Europa League game against Aris. The goal was a deflected strike to make the score 3–0 to Manchester City. On 16 April 2011, Touré scored the only goal of the game in a Man of the Match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. Touré continued his Wembley success by scoring the only goal in his side's 1–0 win over Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup Final, ending Manchester City's 35-year wait for a major trophy, and writing himself into Manchester City folklore in the process.

2011–12 season

The 2011–12 season began strongly as Manchester City led the table for the majority of the season, with Touré playing a vital part in midfield. His efforts were rewarded as he was crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2011, an impressive achievement for a midfielder, since the previous 12 awards have gone to African forwards.

On 3 January 2012, in a match against Liverpool, Touré scored City's second goal of the game, a 33rd-minute header from a David Silva corner. He was later fouled for the penalty that made the score 3–0 to City. On 5 January, it was announced that Touré would be leaving to join the Ivorian national team for the Africa Cup of Nations and would miss City's FA Cup third round clash with fierce rivals Manchester United.

Commenting to Sky Sports News after being targeted by racist mobs throughout a UEFA Europa League tie at FC Porto in February 2012 (his first game back with City after the African Nations Cup), Touré spoke of his love for playing football in England: "That's why we like the Premier League, it never happens there."

As the 2011–12 came to close, Manchester City lost ground to Manchester United in the Premier League title race. After a defeat by Arsenal on 8 April 2012, an eight-point deficit had been established between City and leaders United, with most writing off City's chances of winning the league with six matches remaining.

City, however, beat West Bromwich Albion 4–0, Norwich City 6–1, and Wolvehampton Wanderers 2–0 with United slipping up, meaning the deficit at the top was now only three points with only three matches to play. A victory against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium would move City to top on goal difference. The match was keenly anticipated as one of the most important matches the Premier League's 20-year history. Manchester City won the match, thanks to Vincent Kompany headed goal just before half-time. Touré's performance throughout the match garnered many plaudits in the media, describing his performance as "dominant" and "magnificent."

Touré netted a brace on 6 May in City's 2–0 win over Newcastle United, moving three points above Manchester United with one game left to play in the Premier League season. Touré played the full first half before coming off due to injury as City defeated Queens Park Rangers 3–2 on the final day of the season, assisting Pablo Zabaleta's opening goal in the 39th minute, to secure the first league championship for the Sky Blues in 44 years.

2012–13 season

Touré started the 2012–13 season with a goal in the FA Community Shield in the 3–2 win over Chelsea in Aston Villa's stadium Villa Park. This goal was followed up by scoring first for City in two games, against Liverpool at Anfield and against Queens Park Rangers at home. In City's opening Champions League game of the season, away to Real Madrid, Touré produced a stellar individual performance, assisting an Edin Džeko goal and continually worrying the hosts. Despite his best efforts, however, City lost 3–2 to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal. He also scored in the Manchester derby, making it 2–1 to Manchester United, but City eventually lost 3–2. On 20 December 2012, Touré was crowned the 2012 African Player of the Year award at a ceremony in Accra, Ghana. It is the second time he has won the award. On 24 February 2013, after returning from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Touré scored the opening goal as City beat Chelsea 2–0 in the Premier League.

On 4 April 2013, Touré signed a new contract with City, keeping him at the club until 2017. On 14 April, he was named man of the match as City again beat Chelsea, this time in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

2013–14 season

Yaya Touré playing for Manchester City.

Touré scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season with a free kick as City beat Newcastle United 4–0 in their opening Premier League game. In City's second home match of the season he scored in a similar fashion from a free kick against Hull City. His form continued with a goal from distance in the UEFA Champions League group match against Viktoria Plzeň on 17 September 2013. On 22 September, he scored the second goal in a 4–1 derby win over Manchester United and was named man of the match. His scoring streak continued when he scored direct from a free kick against Wigan Athletic in the third round of the Football League Cup. On 2 November, he scored again direct from a free kick, this time in a 7–0 victory against Norwich City. The goal was his fifth in the league and seventh overall. His current manager Manuel Pellegrini has noted that Touré regularly stays behind after training to improve his free kick technique.

Under Pellegrini, Touré was promoted to vice-vice-captain at Manchester City. He regularly captained the team in the first half of the 2013–14 season in the absence of Vincent Kompany.

On 23 October 2013, Touré was the subject of racist abuse from CSKA Moscow supporters at the Arena Khimki in the group stage of the Champions League. On 2 December 2013, Touré was named the 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year.

On 4 December 2013, Touré scored twice for Manchester City in a 3–2 win at West Bromwich Albion. This took his tally of league goals to seven, his highest in a single Premier League season.

On the 2 March 2014, Touré scored the equalising goal for Manchester City in the 2014 Football League Cup Final against Sunderland. The match ended in a 3–1 win for Manchester City. On 22 March 2014, he scored the first hat-trick in his career in a 5–0 win over Fulham at Etihad Stadium. Touré scored the third goal for Manchester City on 25 March 2014 in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, powering City to a 3–0 victory over their local rivals. On 13 April 2014, Touré suffered a groin injury and was substituted after just 19 minutes of a 3–2 defeat to Liverpool,

On 18 April, he was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award. On 27 April 2014, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

On 7 May, Touré scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season in a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa, becoming only the second midfielder to score 20 goals in a Premier League season, after Frank Lampard. His performances helped City to a second Premier League title in 3 years.

On 20 May, his agent posted on Twitter that he had become unhappy at Manchester City due to the time it took City to give him a new deal in 2013 and was upset that no-one from the club wished him happy birthday. His agent, Dimitri Seluk told BBC Sport that Toure was "very upset" and could leave City. Although on Twitter he firstly denied these rumours he later tweeted "Everything Dimitri said is true. He speaks for me. I will explain after the World Cup."

2014–15 season

On 5 November 2014, in a home Champions League group fixture against CSKA Moscow, Touré scored City's equaliser in the 8th minute after his compatriot Seydou Doumbia had taken under two minutes to put the visitors ahead. City were already 1–2 down and had Fernandinho sent off when Touré was dismissed for shoving Roman Eremenko. The result put City into last place in their group.

On 1 March 2015, Touré started the Premier League match against Liverpool and his brother Kolo came on as an 83rd-minute substitute, marking the first time the two brothers faced each other in a competitive match.

2015–16 season

On 10 August 2015, Touré scored as Manchester City defeated West Bromwich Albion 3–0 at The Hawthorns in their opening fixture of the 2015–16 Premier League season.

2016–17 season

Although he played in the second leg of the Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest, Guardiola decided to leave Touré out of the Champions League squad. After being left of the squad, his agent, Dimitri Seluk stated that Guardiola humiliated Touré by omitting him for the first team. In response to his comment, Guardiola announced that Touré will not be included in the team until he receives an apology.

A few weeks after a public apology to Pep Guardiola on behalf of his agent, Touré made a surprising return to the first team on 16 November, starting against Crystal Palace in which he scored two consecutive goals to earn City a 2–1 win against the home team.

Touré playing for Ivory Coast in 2012.

Yaya Touré has been a regular member of the Ivory Coast national team since his debut in 2004. In 2014, he was named captain of the team after the retirement of Didier Drogba. In the same year, he won his 100th international cap in a 0–0 draw with Cameroon.

In 2006, he appeared for les Éléphants in all three of the team's matches at its first ever World Cup. In the 2010 tournament, he again appeared in all of Côte d'Ivoire's matches, scoring the opening goal in a 3–0 win over North Korea. Touré made his third World Cup appearance during the 2014 competition, and captained the team in their opening match – a 2–1 defeat of Japan in which he was named man of the match by FIFA.

Touré has represented Côte d'Ivoire at six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments; in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015; ending as runners-up in the 2006 and 2012 editions, and winners in 2015. Touré was named in the CAF's team of the tournament in 2008, 2012 and 2015. On 4 February 2015, Touré scored the opening goal in Côte d'Ivoire's 3–1 semi-final victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo to qualify les Éléphants for their third Africa Cup of Nations Final in nine years. On 8 February, Touré captained the Ivory Coast to its first AFCON win since 1992 with a penalty shootout defeat of Ghana at Estadio de Bata in Equatorial Guinea.

Formerly a defender, Yaya Touré plays primarily in the centre as a box-to-box midfielder, often switching between offensive and defensive stances throughout matches. Touré is a complete and versatile midfielder, who can play in several midfield positions, is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world. His key strengths are his passing range, vision, and physical ability. He is gifted with good technique and ball control, although he also excels defensively at breaking down opposing attacking plays and winning back possession through his powerful tackling ability. He is known for his pace, stamina, and physical presence, which is often combined with lungbursting runs from midfield, and he has been referred to as a "human train" and a "colossus" by various pundits. Touré is frequently pushed forward during the latter part of matches, most notably in the penultimate match of the 2011–12 season against Newcastle United where Touré scored two late goals to win the match, and put Manchester City at the top of the league. He is also capable of scoring goals due to his powerful striking ability from distance, and his heading ability, as well as his recently developed adeptness at scoring from set-pieces and penalties.

Touré has in his repertoire an unusual method of striking the ball, referred to by Norwegian Alex Tettey as a "Yaya", and described by BBC's Pat Nevin as a way of striking the ball with a far back area of the foot close to the heel, allowing the ball to move in a straight line which a goalkeeper can find hard to read.

Yaya Touré is a Muslim, once turning down the traditional Man-of-the-Match champagne after a league game against Newcastle United in keeping with his religious beliefs. After this, the Premier League introduced a rose water and pomegranate drink as an alternative prize for players. On 13 December 2016, Touré pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was arrested by police on 28 November after being pulled over and found to be more than twice over the legal driving limit. Touré said that he had not "intentionally consumed alcohol", telling the court that he had consumed diet cola from a jug at a party, not realising there was brandy in it. He conceded that his drink tasted "odd" and that he felt tired after consuming it, but didn't suspect that he was drunk. Judge Gary Lucy said that it was "inconceivable" that he was unaware that he was drinking alcohol. Touré was fined £54,000 – the largest fine ever for drink-driving – and banned from driving for 18 months.

He is the younger brother of Celtic player Kolo Touré and elder brother of former footballer Ibrahim Touré, who died on 19 June 2014, after a short battle with cancer.

In October 2013, Touré joined a campaign against elephant poaching, becoming a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.

Touré was nominated in the Personality of the Year category at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. In July 2014, Touré was nominated for Prize in Entertainment at the 2014 The Future Africa Awards. In December 2015 Toure won the BBC African Footballer of the Year on a public vote for the second time, after leading the Ivory Coast to victory in the 2015 African Cup of Nations .

Club

As of 28 January 2017.

International

International statistics

International goals

Score and Result list Ivory Coast's goals first

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 January 2006	Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Libya	2–1	2–1	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
2.	3 June 2007	Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast	Madagascar	3–0	5–0	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3.	25 January 2008	Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana	Benin	2–0	4–1	2008 Africa Cup of Nations
4.	20 June 2009	Stade du 4-Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso	Burkina Faso	1–0	3–2	2010 World Cup qualification
5.	5 September 2009	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Burkina Faso	3–0	5–0	2010 World Cup qualification
6.	25 June 2010	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa	North Korea	1–0	3–0	2010 World Cup
7.	4 September 2010	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Rwanda	1–0	3–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
8.	10 August 2011	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Israel	2–0	4–3	Friendly
9.	9 October 2011	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Burundi	2–1	2–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
10.	4 February 2012	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea	3–0	3–0	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
11.	22 January 2013	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa	Togo	1–0	2–1	2013 Africa Cup of Nations
12.	26 January 2013	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa	Tunisia	2–0	3–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations
13.	23 March 2013	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Gambia	2–0	3–0	2014 World Cup qualification
14.	8 June 2013	Independence Stadium, Bakau, Gambia	Gambia	3–0	3–0	2014 World Cup qualification
15.	16 June 2013	Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania	Tanzania	2–1	4–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.				3–2
17.	10 September 2014	Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon	Cameroon	1–1	1–4	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
18.	15 October 2014	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast	DR Congo	1–1	3–4	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
19.	4 February 2015	Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea	DR Congo	1–0	3–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations

Touré after winning 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club

ASEC Mimosas

• Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: 2001

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2005–06
• Greek Cup: 2005–06

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10
• Copa del Rey: 2008–09
• Supercopa de España: 2009
• UEFA Champions League: 2008–09
• UEFA Super Cup: 2009
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2009

Manchester City

• Premier League: 2011–12, 2013–14
• FA Cup: 2010–11
• Football League Cup: 2013–14, 2015–16
• FA Community Shield: 2012

Country

Ivory Coast

• Africa Cup of Nations: 2015

Individual

• African Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
• CAF Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• ESM Team of the Year: 2013–14
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2011–12, 2013–14
• BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2013, 2015
• Manchester City Player of the Year: 2013–14
• Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2015

• "Yaya Toure is named Caf African Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2012. 
• "Yaya Toure named 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013. 
• "Orange AFCON 2015 Awards and Best XI". CAF. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.