Former Ivory Coast skipper Yaya Toure has retired from football at the age of 35.
The player’s agent, Dimitri Seluk announced this on his Twitter handle, revealing Toure will now concentrate on a new career path as a coach.
Toure played for Monaco, Barcelona and Manchester City at the peak of his career. He had a second stint at Greek giants, Olympiakos.
Dimitri Seluk said;
“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 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.”
Speaking on his future, Dimitri said;
“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.”
Toure spent three years with Barcelona, winning the La Liga title and the Champions League.
He made the move to Manchester City in 2010, winning three English Premier League titles, two League Cup titles and an FA Cup title.
He earned 101 caps for his country, winning the AFCON title in 2015.