Yaya Touré vows to stay with Manchester City
Yaya Touré stated his intention to remain with Manchester City despite speculation, mostly from his own agent, that he may leave, The Guardian reported on Friday.
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The 31-year-old's agent, Dimitri Seluk, started the rumor mill churning when he said the club failed to recognize Touré's May 13 birthday only days after City won the Premier League title, despite a video on City's website showing Touré being presented with a birthday cake.
“The fans have always been good to me, they’ve always been good to my family,” Touré said to Sky Sports News alongside his agent. “I want to stay. I will always honour my contract. I don’t think about all this speculation. It’s a big pleasure to stay and enjoy the next season.”
The Ivory Coast native's contract with Manchester City runs through 2017. He had been linked to French club Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in reports.
“Everything is fine now,” Touré said, adding that he was "disappointed" with the rumors. “There was a lot of speculation, you know. I think sometimes it’s quite disappointing. I need to do something for the fans, it’s important to let them know. They’ve done a lot for me. The team is preparing well and we will try to win again next season.”
Seluk, who spoke before Touré, said: “I would like to say Yaya will stay at City. He won’t go to any club. Everybody can stop speculation about this. Yaya will stay at Manchester City 100 percent. He has a contract, he will work very hard and I hope this season he will be the best player in England.
“I hope now everybody will have a very friendly relationship,” Seluk added. “I hope his next birthday they will celebrate together.”
- Chris Mascaro
