FUTBIN Meets Yaya Toure

This past week, FUTBIN had the opportunity to chat with former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Touré to get his insights on the upcoming Premier League season, the transfer window & much more! Here’s what he had to say.

Stay tuned to FUTBIN as we approach FC 25, as we have more exciting content featuring the Ivorian legend coming your way!

Do you think Arsenal can surpass Man City this season? What do Arsenal have over City and where do they lack?

“Arsenal always seem to start ahead of Manchester City and then they drop. I don’t know how but it may be down to the lack of experience and their consistency. Maybe they can overcome City this season but as a City fan I want City to win it.” 

“City have always been the best team in the league for some time now and it is what I predicted would happen when I joined the club. I was always thinking that one day City will take the throne from United.” 

What is your pick for the top four positions in the Premier League this season?

“For me the top four this season will be Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and I guess United because the business they’ve done has been quite good and well done. Let's see if they can stay injury free.” 

“I believe Tottenham could also be in the top four because Ange is doing a great job.” 

Which current PL player reminds you the most of yourself?

“Declan Rice reminds me of myself because I think he has the capacity, the ability, the physical ability as well. To do it week in week out is difficult and very demanding but he can do it.” 

“Today's game is very demanding. When you see the schedule of the players from international to the leagues, it’s too many games but I think he can do it.” 

“I love when players want to develop and Declan has the mentality to do it.”

Would you like to see Victor Osimhen in the league and which club do you think would be the best fit? 

“Yes. I would love to see Osihmen in the Premier League. I don’t know how the deals are going so close to deadline day but in my opinion with the way he plays he would be suitable for Manchester United.”

“He would receive more passing from the wings and I’ve watched Bruno Fernandes and he’s a really good passer. Osimhen with his kind of physique is a bit like Drogba. Not the same but he’s strong, can head the ball very well and work hard for his team. He’s very accurate in front of goal and I think he would be suitable for United or Chelsea.”

Do you think Kevin De Bruyne is the greatest attacking midfielder the PL has ever seen? Or is it your former teammate David Silva?

“Wow. Those two have huge, huge respect from me. My best years at City were spent playing with Silva. Kevin de Bruyne I didn’t get much of a chance to play with him but what a player. It was a pleasure to play with him. To share the changing room with him. Both of them are great people and great players.” 

“There’s so many great attacking midfielders like Gerrard, Lampard. You have to look at the time period because during the time of Lampard and Gerrard, you had different players like Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.” 

“Now the period is different. Kevin De Bruyne is such a key player with his passing, his skills, his shooting is incredible. Silva in his period was unbelievable. I don’t like comparing players but both of them deserve to be seen as the best.”

You have a very good equation with Declan Rice - do you think he’s the best defensive midfielder in the league? If not, who do you think it is and what does Rice need to do to surpass him?

“He needs to be in a winning team because the team that wins the league has the best players. He’s competing with Rodri. You can’t underestimate Rodri for what he’s done and what he’s achieved with Man City and now with Spain. He’s a good player. He’s a competitor. Those two are there but Rodri has been winning more trophies than Declan. This year Declan has to change that. Winning trophies makes the difference.” 

“When you look at the details of Declan’s game in terms of winning the ball, running with the ball, going forward and dribbling, even assists. Declan is looking like what I was doing before. Trying to assist and dribbling. Rodri is more build up, reading the game very well, stopping counter attacks, passing. That’s the difference between them. 

Who was your toughest midfield player opponent during your time in the Premier League and why? 

“When I was playing I didn’t want to be arrogant but to be honest I didn’t find anyone difficult because when I was playing I was able to do anything I wanted.” 

“There were better players than me to be honest but in a time of physical impact and games wise I think I didn’t find anyone difficult. I was able to do what I wanted. My teammates made it easier for me also. 

Your 13-14 season in the league was one of the best from a midfielder ever. 24 goals and 12 assists. Why were you able to dominate in such a way that season? 

“The difference was the way I was taking care of myself in terms of nutrition and training. When I arrived in 2010 it was a complicated adaptation. We won the FA Cup and the Premier League with Mancini but I was still adapting and learning.” 

“2013 I understood how to work. 2014 was my peak and where I wanted to make an impact. I was feeling right. I said to myself I need to be important because at Man City I wanted to be a legend.” 

“At Barcelona it was harder to be a legend because they had Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Figo, Koeman. Well known players. Man City didn’t have big names as legends and I wanted to be part of that.” 

As physically dominant as you were, you were also one of the most technical and skilful midfielders the league has seen but your physical attributes were always the main talking point. Was this ever a frustration for you?

“It was not frustrating to me (that people mainly talked about my physique. ed). It was a pleasure, because people were just trying to figure out how to describe me. My physical attributes were the thing that caught people's eyes.”

“When I was young, I was working on that aspect. What people don´t know is that I was very skinny when I was young. I was always easily removed by the opponents, so I was glad that people noticed my physique, because it came from my own work.”

“I was able to work on my weakness, just like my weak foot. The thing is that my technical attributes came naturally to me, and my physicality did not.”

“It took many years of work, so it pleased me that people talked about it.”

Who are some midfielders - in the Premier League and other leagues - that you think are not talked about enough? The ones you think will dominate football in the next decade like KDB, Rodri, Toni Kroos and others did?

“Pedri from Barcelona… What a player. For me, he is a mix of Xavi and Iniesta. He doesn´t have the strength, but he has the technical abilities. His movement and skills.. He can get away from his opponent. It is so nice to see him. I am a huge fan of his.”

“Ødegård from Arsenal, he is so skillful. He is close to players like David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne. He is already well known of course.”

“He has been doing so fantastic and he has been doing it consistently for many years.”

You know Vincent Kompany very well, do you think he is ready to manage a club like Bayern Munich, after his relegation with Burnley?

“I don't think people give Kompany enough credit for what he has been doing. He was at Anderlecht and then Burnley. Burnley did so well in the Championship. Of course, it was difficult in the Premier League because the quality is so high. The players are so good.”

“For me, he is going to succeed at Bayern Munich. He is always optimistic, and he will do well. I wish him good luck. He is a young manager, but I think he can do it.”

“I´m very pleased for him and for this opportunity. Who says no to Bayern Munich? Huge club, very demanding and good fans. He can do it.”

You also played a lot with Leroy Sane, why does he have problems becoming world-class, since the talent is clearly there?

“Leroy Sane is world class to me. What he did at Man City was top. I think he is world class, but people will have their own opinion.”

“I obviously played with him, and luckily never against him. He is a great player, and he is still quite young so he has the future ahead of him.”

Germany has 5 clubs in this new Champions League format, how many of them will progress? Can Bayern, Dortmund or Leverkusen even win the title?

“I hope Bayern Munich will win the Champions League, but it is going to be difficult. Real Madrid, Man City, Barcelona and all these teams are so good.”

“There are some serious contenders. But of course the German teams stand a chance. They are good teams from a good league, and Bayern Munich was in the final. It can happen again, even though people were shocked to see them there.”

There were moments in your career where it looked like you would join Bayern Munich. Was it close? Or why didn’t it happen in the end?

“I never had a call from Bayern Munich actually. Of course, I am a big fan of Germany, so if I had the call I might have been willing to go.”

“They want to play good football in Germany, and as a person I like trying new things like leagues and countries. I love learning new languages and being out of my comfort zone. It would have been perfect.”

“If it was a possibility, I think it is almost 100% sure that you would have seen me there, but it didn't happen.”

Is there one club you wish you had played for? And why?

“One time I have had the chance to play under Pochettino. He asked me to join Tottenham, and you know I think I would have liked that if I got another chance.”

“I could have ended my career at Tottenham, and I am always grateful for what they did when I worked as a youth coach. It was at a difficult moment before that.”

“Tottenham is like that. A lot of players get the opportunity to work in the club after, which is brilliant.”

You played against Christian Eriksen many times. Despite it being some seasons ago he was at his best, do you think he should be talked about more when mentioning the best midfielders ever in the Premier League?

“I´ve been able to face him many times. What a player he is. The way he came back after collapsing at the Euros.. Huge respect to him.”

“He went to Brentford because not many clubs believed in him, but he did incredibly well. He was a top player, and after that he went to Man United.”

“He did well there in the first season, but now he plays a little less. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest midfielders ever in the Premier League. I put him close to David Silva, Bernardo Silva and those kinds of players.”

“He doesn't have the physical attribute like I did, but a player like him can dictate the game all the time, and we don't talk enough about those players.”

More to come from Yaya very soon…