Ivory Coast skipper and Manchester City super star, Yaya Toure has taken a swipe at the British press for failing to appreciate his efforts and records at the Etihad Stadium and focusing more on his poor form. The 32-year-old has struggled to replicate the form that made him the engine room of Manchester City team during the previous campaigns so far this season, only scoring once for the Premier League leaders.
Toure who was replaced at half-time by manager Manuel Pellegrini during the 5-1 victory over Bournemouth last Saturday has aimed his frustrations at the British press for a lack of recognition and appreciation.
The £220,000 a week earning star, explained in an interview with French paper, ‘L’Equipe’ that playing in the Africa Cup of Nations contributed to his dwindling scoring rate. “I missed almost two months (of Premier League football), and I then I was criticised for not scoring as many goals as in the season before?
“Here, when it’s bad, they (British journalists) highlight the faults. When it’s good, they leave that in the dungeon. We, Africans, when we do a good job, we like to be rewarded, recognized,” he stressed.
The embattled attacking midfielder who has helped Manchester City capture two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Capital One Cup since his arrival from Barcelona in 2010, disclosed that he is regularly ‘unhappy’ over his apparent mistreatment in the media.
“I often feel that I’m unhappy. A lot,” Toure said. “When I came to City, in 2010, I heard people say here that I would kill football. The journalists spoke of my salary…But I was just at this club to help it grow and win titles. Many people, beasts, I must say, have laughed at me when I said that. They wondered what I, Yaya Toure, could do to change City. And then you saw what happened next? We almost won everything.”
Toure said he has become so disenchanted with football that he is adamant that his children won’t be involved with the game. “I do not want them to have to go through everything that I have endured. It has hurt me,’ added the midfielder. “Studying for them, that’s what I told the missus. You know, everyone thinks I am happy: I have won titles, lots of money, but, no, I am not happy…”
Pellegrini will hope the midfielder is in a more positive frame of mind in the Champions League on Wednesday, when City host La Liga side Sevilla at the Etihad Stadium. However, the Chilean insists he took Toure off at the interval on Saturday to protect the 32-year-old’s recovery from a slight hamstring injury.
“I was not thinking about Sevilla, I was thinking about Yaya,’ said Pellegrini.
“If you remember Yaya just played 45 minutes in the last game of the Champions League in Germany. After that he didn’t play against Newcastle, he was injured. During the international break for the first 10 days he did nothing and he just worked the last three or four days so I think that 45 minutes for him was enough”, he adds.
By Olisemeka Obeche
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