Yaya Toure retires from football, reveals next plan

Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder, Yaya Toure, has announced his retirement from football.

Toure’s agent, Dimitri Seluk, made this known in an interview with Sport24 on Friday.

Seluk said the 35-year-old will enter into coaching and management after hanging up his boots at the end of the season.

“I say this for the first time: Yaya decided to end his career as a champion,” Seluk said.

“The farewell match, when he won the Premier League title with Manchester City was, in principle, the real end of his playing career. Not only in this team, but in general.”

“Yaya is one of the best players in Africa and he had one of the brightest careers in the history of African football,” Seluk added.

“Therefore, he should also leave football beautifully, at the peak. We talked for a long time on this topic.

“Of course, every football player wants to play for as long as possible. In terms of his physical condition, Yaya could do this at a sufficiently high level for another five years.

“But we came to the conclusion that he, the football player who played for Barcelona and Manchester City, could not lower the bar.

“We see many players who continue their careers at a mature age, and this is commendable. But Yaya and I chose a different path – to leave as a champion and start a new stage in life with a career as a coach.

“In this, I am sure, Yaya will reach even greater heights than those he achieved as a football player. There are no African coaches in the English Premier League.”