Man City Legend Admits He Could Have Easily Joined Chelsea Instead

Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed that Chelsea also made an offer to sign him prior to his move to the Etihad in 2010.

Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, Toure confirmed that he had proposals from both Premier League teams, but he felt that joining the Cityzens was the “right” move for him:

“It was a great window about the World Cup coming in 2010 in South Africa. I knew I was going to play because I have the full confidence, trust in the coach and manager.”

“And after that, I knew if you had played that competition, the World Cup, you would be club coming. And I was patient, you know and as soon as Man City come, Chelsea was there as well. And for me, it was the right moment to move. And it happened when my brother cut the phone and called me, okay, I signed for Man City.”

Toure was an iconic figure at City

The Ivorian international undoubtedly made the correct call when he decided to make the switch to Manchester. In his eight years with the team, he won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two Carabao Cups and the Community Shield.

Toure was a dominant player in the middle of the park, scoring 80 goals and providing 45 assists in 316 appearances. His exploits have gone down in legend at the club.

He had a difficult relationship with Guardiola

There is no disputing the fact that Toure’s final couple of years at the Etihad were not as happy as they could have been. Pep Guardiola had managed him at Barcelona before he was sold to City and his arrival in Manchester in 2016 led to several incidents.

Guardiola demanded an apology after Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk falsely claimed the player was being frozen out. A thawing of the relationship between Toure and Guardiola did lead to the midfielder returning to first team duties but he ended up departing in 2018. He has not been invited back to the club in an official capacity since then.

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