Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has agreed a one-year contract extension, the Premier League club have confirmed.
Toure has been a pivotal figure in City winning two Premier League titles and two EFL Cups during his time at the Etihad Stadium. And he ended the club’s 35-year trophy drought with the winning goal in the 2011 FA Cup final against Stoke City at Wembley.
However, the 34-year-old’s period in Manchester seemed set to end earlier this season when boss Pep Guardiola, who oversaw the player’s move from Barcelona to City in 2010, exiled him from the first team picture amid a row with agent Dimitri Seluk.
There were also concerns over Toure returning to pre-season training overweight, but he marked his surprise return to the starting XI with both goals in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace last November and remained integral to Guardiola’s plans from that point.
In a statement on City’s official website, Toure said: ‘I’m delighted. I told myself the journey at City is not done, and when I received a call from Txiki [Begiristain, director of football] and talked to the manager I was very delighted.
‘When I was first coming here, I was trying to be part of a new story, of something special at this club. I am very lucky now to be part of a great club with great players around me who are helping me to achieve my targets.
‘Of course, I want to win trophies, that is very important to me. I want to enjoy it at this age still, and remaining here is a massive, massive thing. It is a great club, going in the right direction with new players who are coming in. Our mentality is always to win week in, week out and I’m delighted with the fans as well.’
Toure has 299 appearances and 81 goals to his name in City colours, with 20 of those coming as he excelled in their 2013-14 Premier League title triumph.
The ex-Ivory Coast star remains with Guardiola, who is in the early stages of overhauling his squad, having finished a season without a major trophy for the first time in his coaching career in 2016-17.
Toure is the only senior professional, whose deal expires at the end this season, to have signed extended terms; Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas and Willy Caballero will all leave the club.
Caballero’s departure leaves City sparse in the goalkeeping department, but they are expected to announce the signing of Ederson from Benfica, after the Portuguese champions told their national stock exchange on Thursday that they had agreed to sell the Brazilian for €40-million.
Last week, City completed their first major deal of the close season when playmaker Bernardo Silva joined from Monaco for a reported initial €50m.
‘Yaya has been a fantastic servant for Manchester City and continues to be a vital member of Pep Guardiola’s squad,’ Begiristain said.
‘He is one of our most experienced and popular players and we couldn’t be happier that he is staying with us as we embark on what we all hope will be a very exciting season.
‘Yaya has been central to the successes we’ve had over the past seven years and he has a vital part to play next season.’
– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za
