The arrival of former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City was always going to put Yaya Toure’s future at the club in doubt. The duo don’t really enjoy a great relationship, and Toure even blamed Guardiola for his exit from Barcelona. The 33-year-old made a €30m move to Manchester City in 2010, after which he revealed Guardiola always ignored him, and that they didn’t talk to each other for a year.
Guardiola, however, had a different story, and told the media that he tried his best to convince Toure to stay at Camp Nou, after the Manchester City star asked to leave the Catalan giants.
Things got even worse earlier this season, before Pep Guardiola’s appointment, when Toure’s agent, Dimitri Seluk, publicly criticized Guardiola saying ‘his grandfather could win titles with Barcelona and Bayern Munich’, and that Guardiola should manage a mid-table club to prove himself. Later, Seluk also launched an attack on Manchester City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, and admitted Yaya Toure could leave the club at the end of the season.
The Manchester City star is a wanted man, and has several offers from China, and other clubs in the world, and despite the English media suggesting that he is certain to stay in the Premier League next summer, it’s very likely he could reunite with former boss Roberto Mancini at Inter.
Roberto Mancini is said to be very keen on a reunion with Toure, and has made it clear that he wants to sign the midfielder this summer, after failing to sign him last summer. According to Italian website Tutto Mercato Web, Yaya Toure is close to signing for Inter, and it’s only a matter of time, before the Serie A club complete a deal for the player.
The 33-year-old has rejected offers from China and other clubs in the world in the last 48-72 hours, as Mancini hopes to convince him to take a wage cut to sign for Inter. Toure is currently earning around €14m a year at Etihad, and TMW reckon Inter could offer him €5-6m a year plus 'rich bonuses’.
Manchester City are likely to demand a nominal fee for Toure, which shouldn’t be a problem for Inter, especially now that Chinese investors Suning Commerce Group are close to purchasing 70% stakes in the club. Suning are likely to provide Inter with a major money boost, and that could also allow them facilitate a move for Toure.
Earlier, Rai TV journalist, Ivan Zazzaroni, claimed on Twitter that Toure has already passed his medicals for Inter in Milan, but we’re not really sure, if the reports are reliable.
As things stand, Toure is definitely a transfer target for Inter, as confirmed by Inter Milan director Piero Ausilio, but it’s likely they’d want to sort out the ownership change first, before they can complete a move for the Manchester star.
