Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has sensationally claimed Pep Guardiola does not like picking African footballers.
Toure left City at the end of the season after eight glorious years. But in his final campaign his relationship with Guardiola deteriorated and he made only one Premier League start — in the champions’ meaningless final home fixture against Brighton.
Now, in an interview with a French football magazine, the 35-year-old has made the extraordinary suggestion that he was being discriminated against by Guardiola on racial grounds.
‘Pep did everything to spoil my last season. He was cruel with me,’ said Toure. ‘Do you really think he could’ve been like that with Andres Iniesta? It got to the point I asked myself if it was because of my colour. I am not the first. Other Barcelona players asked the question.
‘Maybe us Africans aren’t always treated the same by certain people. When you see the problems (Pep) has often had with African players, everywhere he has been, I ask myself questions. He is too intelligent to be caught. He will never admit it. But the day he picks a team with five Africans in it, I promise I will send him a cake.’
Toure played under Guardiola at Barcelona, winning the Champions League in 2009 as well as two league titles and a Spanish Cup.
However, the two men never looked at ease with each other when Guardiola succeeded Manuel Pellegrini at City two summers ago.
Toure was in and out of the City team in the 2016-17 season and was expected by many to leave last summer, especially after persistent criticism of Guardiola by his controversial agent Dimitri Seluk. Instead, Toure stayed, only to be frozen out last season.
Speaking to France Football magazine, Toure said: ‘Pep wants to have obedient players who lick his hands. I do not like this relationship. I respect my coach but I am not his thing. Other players will never admit it publicly but some have already told me they ended up hating him. Because he manipulates and plays a lot with your head.’
Toure insisted he had no idea why he was not selected last season, claiming he asked the coaches for his stats and they were as good as or better than those of younger players who were picked ahead of him. ‘I have the impression he (Guardiola) was jealous, he took me for a rival,’ Toure said.
Toure played a starring role as City won Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014, featured in the FA Cup-winning team of 2011 and also played in two League Cup final wins.
Toure said: ‘I want to be the one who breaks the Guardiola myth. Barcelona, he did not invent it. He just had the intelligence to adapt what Cruyff set up. Pep wants to be considered a genius. When I see him scratching his head to show that he thinks, it makes me laugh. It’s comedy.’
Announcing that Toure would leave in May, Guardiola said: ‘This club became what it did because of players like Yaya. We are in thanks for what he has become.’
Toure insisted it hurt him to leave City — and their ‘beautiful’ fans. ‘Pep did everything to spoil my last season. He stole my farewells with City,’ said Toure.
He went on to say that he and the manager even ‘looked at each other weirdly.’ Toure added: ‘He was spinning around me without saying anything, watching me, gauging me, but not talking. Yet he knows I speak Catalan, Spanish and English. It should be enough to communicate. Every time we passed each other, he seemed embarrassed. As if I made him self-conscious. As if, also, he understood I knew him perfectly.’
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