Manchester City forward Wilfried Bony has urged team-mate Yaya Touré to stay at the club despite incessant rumours linking the midfielder with a move away.
The player's agent Dimitri Seluk has recently stated that Touré is "90 per cent" certain to leave the Etihad this summer, with a reunion with former manager Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan said to be his preference.
Touré, now 32, was one of the key reasons why his Ivorian compatriot Bony decided to join the club from Swansea City in January, and Bony now says that he wants play a similar role in persuading him to stay.
"I talk to him about it all the time. He knows what I think. He brought me here so he needs to stay," Bony asserted.
"He told me about this being a big club, how we were the champions.
"He told me it was a club that always fights - and I am always a fighter so I liked that. He told me about the pressure, everything.
"For sure everyone wants to keep him here. He's a legend for this club for sure, he always will be. We hope he stays, he's a big player here and we know everything he is doing for the club."
Touré has scored nine goals in all competitions so far this season compared to 24 last year, and City fans have apportioned him a good deal of the blame for their side's downturn in fortunes on the pitch.
"It's been difficult for him," Bony admitted. "But you have to remember it's been three years where there's been big tournaments, World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
"You need to play a lot of matches, you are playing in high temperatures, it's not easy. Injuries can also occur in that time, the pressure and expectations are high.
"There are some things in football you can't control, like when the tournaments come round, when you get injured. You just have to try to deal with them and help the team."