Yaya Toure has confirmed that he will be staying at Manchester City this summer and he is vowing to help the club lift the Champions League trophy.
The 32-year-old Ivory Coast international midfielder had been heavily linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium going into the transfer window with former boss Roberto Mancini keen to take him to Italian side Inter Milan.
Toure endured a difficult past season at City having failed to replicate his top form which was influential in the club’s title-winning 2013-14 campaign, while he was also missing for a month at the start of the year helping the Ivory Coast to African Cup of Nations success.
City subsequently finished eight points adrift of winners Chelsea in the title race, while they ended the campaign trophyless with many fans highlighting Toure’s lack of form as a big factor behind their failure on the pitch.
And when Italian giants Inter and Mancini expressed a desire to take him to Italy’s Serie A, it looked certain that he would be departing this summer.
However, after Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk claimed the player would be staying having been assured by the club’s owner Sheikh Mansour that he had a big role to play, the former Barcelona star has now spoken out to pledge his future to City.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “I will definitely stay. The fans don’t have to be worried.
“My target this year is to try to do everything possible to make this team improve well and I am sure with my experience, maybe I hope, with the players coming in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, definitely it is going to be a strong City next year.”
In addition to missing out on the Premier League, City again struggled to make an impact in the Champions League and Toure is looking to put that right in the future.
“It is one of my big targets because City have been in the shadow of United for so long,” he added.
“Sometimes their fans are coming back, saying we are the top because we have already won the Champions League.
“What I want for the fans is the Champions League. I will do everything that’s possible.”
City can be backed at 3.75 to win the Premier League next season, while Barcelona are 1.36 favourites to lift the Champions League on Saturday night.
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