“It’s the kind of mentality I tried to bring to Manchester City” - Yaya Toure names 2 ex-Barcelona stars he wanted to replicate in Premier League
Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed that Barcelona duo Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry inspired him the most. The Ivorian midfielder left the Catalans in the summer of 2010 to arrive at the Etihad.
Toure spent three seasons with the LaLiga giants, winning the league and the Champions League. He registered 118 appearances across competitions for Barcelona, but Sergio Busquets' emergence proved his bane.
Toure was instrumental in City's rise in the league, and became an integral part of the starting XI. He spent eight seasons with the English giants, winning the Premier League thrice, as well as other trophies.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, Toure added that he wanted to bring Eto'o and Henry's mentality and attitude to Manchester City.
“Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry [were the Barcelona players] who inspired me the most. Eto’o was obviously African and Thierry, brilliant player at Arsenal. Playing and sharing the dressing room with them gave me a lot in terms of ambition, desire and commitment," said Toure.
He continued:
"Seeing those guys doing the type of things [in training helped me a lot]. It’s that kind of mentality and attitude that I tried to bring to Manchester City. I wanted to replicate that [in the Premier League].”
Toure shared the pitch 55 times with Samuel Eto'o and 79 times with Thierry Henry, all for the Catalans.
Will Barcelona sign a Bundesliga defender this summer?
Barcelona's plans to sign Jonathan Tah this summer have hit a standstill, according to SPORT (via 90 min). The German defender's contract with Bayer Leverkusen expires in a few months and he has already announced that he will leave.
The Catalans are plotting to prise him away on a Bosman move, and have apparently reached an agreement with Tah. However, the club's poor finances are threatening to ruin their plans.
The LaLiga giants do not have the funds to accommodate five center-backs in the squad and they are expected to offload Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia this summer. However, with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez and Ronald Araujo also in the ranks, there are question marks regarding a move for Tah.
Barcelona could address the situation by offloading the Uruguayan. Despite signing a new deal earlier this year, Araujo's future remains up in the air.
It is believed that his new contract contains an affordable release clause, which could facilitate his departure this summer. Meanwhile, Tah is willing to wait for the Catalans to sort things out.