Yaya Toure has insisted that he knew Pep Guardiola would call upon his services at some point during his first season in charge of Manchester City.
The 33-year-old had seemingly been frozen out by the man who sold him to City when he was boss of Barcelona in 2010, amid an ongoing controversy surrounding his agent Dimitri Seluk.
But the Ivorian made his first league appearance for City in their 2-1 away win over Crystal Palace yesterday, scoring both goals and picking up the man of the match award.
Toure said, as reported by Sky Sports: “I was prepared mentally and I knew that one day my manger would need me.
“You must always stay professional. They [the fans] have always been brilliant with me, always supportive. I always want to be there to help them. I am professional, I always want to improve my game.”
In September Guardiola told his player that he would not represent City’s first team unless he apologised for remarks made by Seluk.
While the agent hasn’t said sorry himself yet, in November Toure went some way to rectifying his relationship with Guardiola by apologising for a previous misunderstanding. His devotion in training has led to Guardiola rewarding him with first team action.
The Manchester City fans displayed their support for the 33-year-old throughout yesterday’s game at Selhurst Park and a number of the supporters took to the field to celebrate his winner.
The former Barca star’s display against the Eagles may influence Guardiola to start him next Sunday when City travel to Burnley in hope of keeping pace with league leaders Chelsea.
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