Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré, who was heavily linked with moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan over the past few months, has pledged his long-term future to The Citzens.
The 32-year-old has two years left on his current contract with the sky Blues, and after end-of-season talks with officials, has decided to stay loyal to the club that signed him from La Liga giants Barcelona for £24million pounds five years back. It was a tough season collectively for City last term, but Touré has cited the ongoing support from fans as one of the main reasons as to why he has decided to stay with the Eastlands club.
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Touré stated: "It is very, very important as a person and as a football player as well when you see people following you, it is difficult sometimes to disappoint them. The fans are doing brilliant for this club. When people show you loyalty, nothing is going by. That's why I want to stay at City - I want to stay long."
He also admitted that he hopes to emulate the likes of AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, by retiring at City. That will come as encouraging news to City fans everywhere, as Touré is a key figure in their side - often bossing the midfield role perfectly. Last season, he was out-of-sorts at times, struggling for match fitness due to a few injury niggles as well as looking lethargic in the second half of the campaign, having come back from international duty with his native Ivory Coast after they won the African Cup of Nations with new club team-mate Wilfried Bony, signed from Swansea in January.
In comparison:
Touré played six more league matches in the 2013/14 campaign, as to last term. His pass completion was slightly better, 90% (to 89%), he created 40 chances (seven more) and scored ten more goals overall in the Premier League. He also only created one assist last season, as opposed to NINE in the campaign before.
