Toure left out of Man City's Champions League squad
LONDON (Reuters) - Yaya Toure has been left out of Manchester City's Champions League squad by coach Pep Guardiola, further undermining the Ivorian's position at the club.
Toure, a mainstay of the City midfield since joining from Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010, has failed to start any of the club's opening three Premier League matches.
He has only played once this season, in the second leg of the Champions League playoff tie against Steaua Bucharest, when they already had a 5-0 lead from the first encounter.
Toure had been tipped by many to leave the club following Guardiola's arrival from Bayern Munich in the close season, with Inter Milan reported to be interested in signing the midfielder.
The transfer window closed, however, with Toure still at the Etihad Stadium and his chances of regular first-team football now look slim.
Guardiola was allowed to name 17 overseas players in his squad for the Champions League group stage where City will face Borussia Moenchengladbach, Celtic and the coach's former club Barcelona.
City have 18 overseas players on their books and Toure failed to make the cut for the squad that was published by the club on Friday.
He could yet feature in the knockout stages of the competition should he manage to change his manager's mind as clubs can switch three players after the group stage.
At 33, however, Toure's days at City look numbered despite his agent saying last month that he plans to stay and fight for his place.
Among the 17 overseas players to make the squad are new signings Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan, who are yet to play for City, as well as captain Vincent Kompany, who is still recovering from the injury that kept him out of Euro 2016.
(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Ed Osmond)