Glory boys: Yaya Toure holds the Champions League
trophy he won with Barcelona in 2009 and brother Kolo, then with
Arsenal, gets in on the act as they parade the cup during a visit
home to the Ivory Coast
Having been pursued by Manchester City for 18 months,
Yaya Toure - the club's tower ing new midfielder - eventually
decided to say yes at the end of last season. The reaction in the
Barcelona dressing room was perhaps understandable.
'When you say: "I want to leave Barcelona", people think you're
a crazy person and that's how it was,' said Toure.
'Because they are a big team, a great team, and nobody
wants to leave them because of that. So the reaction was that
people couldn't really believe it.
'But for me, I won everything there and I needed another
challenge. And for me, Manchester City is a very nice
challenge.'
A challenge it certainly will be. And the challenge is clear.
Toure - perhaps City's most important signing of another megabucks
summer - must try to mould together the talented parts of a team
that at times looked disparate last season.
He must exist and thrive in a dressing room where some players
earn twice as much as those sitting opposite. On a weekly wage in
excess of £200,000, he will be the most highly paid.
He will earn, for example, considerably more than his brother -
and last season's captain - Kolo. For the first time in a long
time, he will not play in the Champions League. No, it will not be
easy.
'It is a big challenge, coming to a new city and a different
situation,' he admitted.
'Manchester City don't play Champions League and haven't won any
cups for a long time. I left Barcelona because of this. City for me
is perfect.