Yaya Toure has retired from football, claims agent

Former Barcelona and Manchester City star Yaya Toure has retired from professional football at 35 years of age and will pursue a career in coaching, his agent has said. 

The midfielder, who made 316 appearances for Man City scoring 79 goals, has been without a club since December 2018 after having his contract terminated by Greek side, Olympiakos.

His agent Dimitri Seluk confirmed the news on Friday speaking to Russian website ‘Sport 24’:

“Yaya has decided to end his career as a champion.The farewell match which Manchester City gave him was, in principle, the real end of his playing career, not only in that team, but in general.

Yaya is one of the best players in Africa and had one of the brightest careers in the history of African football, so should leave football at its peak. Of course every footballer wants to play as long as possible and in terms of his physical condition Yaya could do this at a sufficiently high level for another five years.”

The Ivorian enjoyed a trophy laden spell in Manchester, winning three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups in a eight year period. Toure is also seen as being a key figure in Manchester City’s significant rise under owner Sheikh Mansour who took over the club in 2008.

The four-time African footballer of the year and Champions league winner with Barcelona is now keen to get involved in the coaching aspect of the game and will seek a role on the sidelines. Seluk added:

“I’m sure that two years after Yaya gets the Pro coaching licence, he will head one of the serious clubs and achieve great success in the coaching field. Now he has already begun to take steps in this direction”

Yaya Toure ends an 18 year career with 101 caps to his name for Ivory Coast, playing in three World Cup’s.