“I had to smash him” - Yaya Toure shares why he had to get physical with Ronaldinho in Barcelona training
Yaya Toure has opened up about his early experiences training with Ronaldinho at Barcelona, explaining how the Brazilian's flair forced him to respond with physicality. The duo spent a season training together at the Ciutat Esportiva before Ronaldinho left Barca for AC Milan in 2008.
Reflecting on their sessions on an episode of Rio Ferdinand Presents on YouTube, Toure described how Ronaldinho would warn him before training duels. At first, Toure thought little of it until the legendary dribbler began to embarrass him regularly.
He said:
“When I started training with Ronaldinho in the beginning, it was all normal. But it came to the point where he would say, ‘Yaya, if you come too close and press me be careful, I’m going to make you [suffer]. I said, ‘Nah, what is he talking about?'"
"Then anytime I came close, he did it. I had to smash him then because at that time me, Seydou Keita and Abidal were the physical players in the team. Even Thierry Henry was physical because he was tall and came from Arsenal in the Premier League," he continued.
Yaya Toure continued, talking about the Barcelona squad that season:
“Sometimes when our team was forced to play in a physical way, it was easy for us to do it rather than a Xavi or Iniesta [who were both more technical]. That’s why I called us a complete team from that period."
"When we played against physical teams, we have players [like me] who can respond in that manner. When you go up against a technical team, we had players who could make a difference with control, dribbling and open up the games in the form of Iniesta, Xavi and Messi," he added.
Notably, Yaya Toure left Barcelona in 2010 for Manchester City, where he spent eight years.
Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign Barcelona legend Ronaldinho for Manchester Utd
Manchester United found their heads spinning when Ronaldinho had a last-minute change of heart despite Sir Alex Ferguson's pursuance to sign him back in 2003. Former first-team coach Rene Meulensteen revealed the legendary manager was “really keen” on signing the playmaker.
At the time, Ronaldinho was starring for Paris Saint-Germain and appeared the ideal fit. United made their move, but the deal fell through, and Meulensteen explained to Poker Firma (via GOAL):
“After I joined the club in the 2000s, I do believe Sir Alex was really keen on signing Ronaldinho from Barcelona. He was absolutely exceptional during his time in Spain and he would have brought that superstar element with him to the club, which I don’t think Sir Alex would have minded as long as he was able to manage him."
Instead, Ronaldinho signed for Barcelona, where he would win the Ballon d’Or. Ferguson eventually reached for another rising star, signing Cristiano Ronaldo instead.