Former Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure has officially announced retirement from active football.
After eight successful seasons with Manchester City, Toure brought an end to his glittering Citizens career at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, and subsequently joined former club Olympiacos in September 2018.
The Ivory Coast international’s stint with the Greek outfit was short-lived, though, leaving the club via a mutual agreement three months later, and has not played a competitive match since.
The former FC Barcelona star’s agent Dimitry Seluk took to Twitter on Friday to announce his client’s decision to retire, in addition to revealing that the 35-year-old is set to enter the world of coaching.
Yaya Toure @YayaToure ended his playing career. Next up is a career in coaching.
Read here: https://t.co/7nWuYeTlC6 pic.twitter.com/oNOwMqoGlD
— Dimitry Seluk (@dmitriseluk) May 10, 2019
“I say this for the first time: Yaya decided to end his career as a champion,” Seluk said via Sport24.ru
“The farewell match given to him by Manchester City, in principle, was 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. Therefore, he should also leave football beautifully, at his peak.
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“We talked for a long time about this topic. Of course, every football player wants to play 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 with his hands.
“We see many players who continue their careers at a sufficiently 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 – a career as a coach, in which, 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. I think.”
The former AS Monaco star clinched several league titles in his club career, during which he turned out for Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, Monaco, Barcelona and Manchester City.
According to Toure’s agent, the three-time UEFA Champions League winner has begun preparations in a bid to acquire his UEFA Pro Licence, and has also already received offers to coach clubs in Russia and Ukraine.
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