Yaya Touré, born on May 13, 1983, in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, is an Ivorian international footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He also holds British citizenship, obtained in 2018.
Touré initially wanted to be a striker during his youth and has occasionally played as a central defender in his career, notably during the 2009 Champions League final with Barcelona. He currently operates as a "box-to-box" midfielder, transitioning between offensive and defensive positions during matches, both for his club and national team. Touré began his career at ASEC Mimosas at the age of 18. He was named African Player of the Year for four consecutive years, from 2011 to 2014.
His performances attracted attention from European clubs, and he played for several clubs in six different countries. Touré played for Beveren in Belgium, Metalurg Donetsk in Ukraine, Olympiakos in Greece, and AS Monaco in France. In 2007, Touré signed for Barcelona in Spain, where he played over 100 matches and was part of the historic team that won six trophies in 2009.
Yaya Touré joined Manchester City in the Premier League in 2010, where he scored many decisive goals, including the only goal in the 2011 FA Cup final. He also won three Premier League titles in 2012, 2014, and 2018, as well as two League Cups in 2014 and 2016. He left the club in the summer of 2018 after his contract expired. He then briefly returned to Olympiakos before signing for the Chinese club Qingdao Huanghai in 2019.
Touré represented Ivory Coast internationally from 2004 to 2016, participating in his country's first World Cup in 2006, as well as in 2010 and 2014. In 2015, he won his first Africa Cup of Nations title after losing two finals in 2006 and 2012.
Yaya is the younger brother of Kolo Touré, with whom he played at Manchester City from 2010 to 2013.
Biography Early Career (1996-2005) Touré joined the ASEC Mimosas academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his mentor, Patrick van Reijendam. In 2001, Jean-Marc Guillou, a significant figure in the ASEC Mimosas academy, invested in the Belgian club Beveren with the intention of using the team as a European springboard for Ivorian young players. In 2001, Touré was among the many players from ASEC Mimosas to move to Beveren.
During the summer of 2003, Yaya Touré had a trial at Arsenal. He started in a friendly match against Barnet on July 19, playing as a supporting striker before being moved to a center-forward position in the second half. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger recognized Touré's potential but found his performance average. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, and BBC Sport stated that Touré had "spoiled his copy by missing the best chance of the match from a Quincy Owusu-Abeyie cross." Wenger wanted to sign him, but Touré struggled to obtain a work permit. Impatient, Touré eventually signed for the Ukrainian club Metalurg Donetsk, where he stayed for a year and a half.
Olympiakos (2005-2006) Touré joined Olympiakos in 2005. During the 2005-2006 season, the club won the double as Touré participated in 26 out of 30 league matches. With the Greek club, he made his debut in the Champions League, playing his first match on September 13, 2005, against Rosenborg BK (a 1-3 defeat for Olympiakos). He scored his first goal for Olympiakos on October 16, 2005, against PAOK Salonique from a free-kick, although his team still lost 1-2. Touré thus made a name for himself in Europe. After representing Ivory Coast in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he signed for AS Monaco in August.
AS Monaco (2006-2007) Yaya Touré signed a three-year contract with AS Monaco for a fee of around 5.5 million euros. He made his debut for the Monaco team on August 27, 2006, coming on as a substitute for Serge Gakpé in Monaco's 2-1 victory against CS Sedan. In his early days at Monaco, Touré encountered relationship difficulties with his coach, László Bölöni, and complained that Bölöni refused to play him in his preferred position. Second from bottom in Ligue 1 after 10 matches, the Romanian coach was eventually dismissed in October. Laurent Banide was hired as a replacement and made Touré a major asset in the club's climb up the standings, despite far from total confidence. Touré ended the season by missing only one match under Banide, scoring 5 goals in total.
FC Barcelona (2007-2010) Yaya Touré (left) with FC Barcelona. Yaya Touré joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2007 for a transfer fee of 10 million euros.
The Ivorian international played his first official match for the club against Racing de Santander, on the opening day of the 2007-2008 La Liga season, on August 26, 2007. He started in midfield, and the two teams ended in a 0-0 draw. He scored his first goal for the "blaugrana" in a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on September 2, 2007. Touré ended his first season in Spain having played 40 matches and scored 2 goals in all competitions.
During the first part of the 2008-2009 season, Barcelona's new coach, Pep Guardiola, preferred Sergio Busquets over Touré in the defensive midfield role. In the 2009 Champions League final against Manchester United, he was deployed in central defense alongside Gerard Piqué to compensate for the absence of the usual starter, despite having played only two games in that position for Barcelona. In June 2010, Barcelona confirmed that Touré was free to leave the club during the summer.
Manchester City (2010-2018) Yaya Touré (second from the left) playing for Manchester City in 2012. On June 2, 2010, Touré signed a five-year contract with Manchester City for a transfer fee of 32 million euros and was assigned the number 42 shirt, as the number 24 was already allocated to Patrick Vieira. Yaya thus joined his older brother Kolo, who had signed for Manchester City from Arsenal in 2009. He made his debut in England at White Hart Lane on August 14, in a draw against Tottenham Hotspur, and scored his first goal for his new club on September 19 against Wigan Athletic.
Under Roberto Mancini, Touré was placed more offensively than with his previous clubs, in a three-man midfield alongside Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong, thus scoring more goals than usual. On April 16, 2011, in the FA Cup semi-finals against Manchester United, he scored the only goal of the match, thus qualifying his team for the final. He repeated this performance against Sunderland by scoring the only goal of the final, thereby giving the club its first title in 35 years. Thanks to this goal, he managed to carve out a place in the club's folklore. He ended his first season in England with a personal record of 10 goals in all competitions in 51 matches.
The 2011-2012 season started well for Touré. He played an important role for Manchester City, with the team spending most of the championship in first place. His efforts were rewarded as he won the African Player of the Year award in 2011, a first for a midfielder. In January, Touré had to miss the entire month to participate in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, notably missing a derby against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
On February 17, 2012, after a Europa League match against FC Porto during which opposing fans allegedly made racist chants, Touré professed his love for English football on Sky Sports News by stating, "That's why we love the Premier League, that kind of thing never happens there."
Three points behind Manchester United with three matchdays remaining, City had to beat the Red Devils to take the lead in the championship for a match considered one of the biggest clashes in Premier League history. As the Sky Blues won thanks to a goal from Vincent Kompany, Yaya Touré's performance was described as "dominant" and "magnificent". On May 6, Touré scored both goals in a 2-0 win against Newcastle United, allowing City to stay at the top of the table going into the final matchday. In the last match of the season against Queens Park Rangers, Touré provided an assist to Pablo Zabaleta for the 1-0 goal before being substituted due to injury at halftime. His team eventually won the match 3-2 with a goal from Sergio Agüero in the 95th minute, thus making Touré an English champion for the first time in his career, as Manchester City won its first title in 44 years.
Touré started the 2012-2013 season with a third trophy in two years with a victory in the Community Shield against Chelsea. In the first Champions League match of the season against Real Madrid, he put in a good performance, being dangerous in front of goal and providing an assist to Edin Džeko. Despite this, City lost the match 3-2 to a late goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. On December 20, 2012, he was named African Player of the Year for the second consecutive time. In January 2013, he again participated in the Africa Cup of Nations and scored upon his return with Manchester City in a 2-0 win against Chelsea.
On April 4, 2013, he signed a contract extension with City, tying him to the club until 2017. On April 14, Touré was named man of the match after a victory against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
During the 2013-2014 season, Yaya Touré scored a total of 24 goals in all competitions. He notably scored in the derby won 4-1 against Manchester United and was named man of the match after the match. He managed to convert direct free kicks in several matches, such as in Manchester City's 7-0 win against Norwich City. With coach Manuel Pellegrini, Touré was promoted to vice-captain at the club. He thus regularly captained the team during the 2013-2014 season in the absence of Vincent Kompany, who suffered several injuries during the season.
On October 23, 2013, Touré claimed to have been subjected to racist chants from CSKA Moscow fans during the Champions League match at the Arena Khimki. On December 2, Touré was named African Player of the Year for the third consecutive time. Two days later, he scored a brace in a 3-2 win against West Bromwich Albion, bringing his total goals in the league to 7, thus surpassing his previous record. On March 2, 2014, Touré scored the equalizing goal in the Capital One Cup final against Sunderland. The match ended with a 3-1 scoreline in favor of Manchester City, thus earning Touré his fourth trophy with the Manchester club. On March 22, 2014, Touré scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 5-0 win against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.
On May 7, he became the second midfielder to reach 20 goals in the Premier League behind Frank Lampard. After a second Premier League title in three years, Touré's agent posted on Twitter that his client had become unhappy at Manchester because of the time City took in 2013 to offer him a new contract but also because no one at the club wished him a happy birthday. His agent, Dimitri Seluk, told BBC Sport that Touré was "very unhappy" and could leave Manchester City. On Twitter, the Ivorian player initially denied the claims before later posting, "Everything Dimitri said is true. He speaks for me. I will explain after the World Cup." Excluded from the squad by Guardiola in 2016, he returned as a starter against Crystal Palace and scored two goals to give Manchester City the victory.
Return to Olympiakos (2018) On September 2, 2018, Touré signed with Olympiakos, the club where he played during the 2005-2006 season. On September 27, he started for his return in the Greek Cup against APO Levadiakos. He also wore the captain's armband that day, and his team won 1-0.
On December 11, 2018, he terminated his contract with Olympiakos.
End of Career in China (2019) On July 3, 2019, Yaya Touré found a new destination in Asia. The midfielder signed with Qingdao Huanghai in the Chinese second division. While his agent had announced the player's retirement, the midfielder returned to the pitch, having been without a club since December 2018.
As his club Qingdao Huanghai FC was crowned champions of the second division, the Ivorian was sent off for the last match of the season on November 2 against Nantong Zhiyun. The former Manchester City midfielder kicked an opponent's legs while the latter did not have the ball.
Transition (2021-) After his last playing experience with Qingdao Huanghai, Yaya Touré moved into coaching. At the age of 37, the former Ivorian midfielder was appointed assistant coach of Olimpik Donetsk in Ukraine on February 10, 2021.
On June 14, 2021, he signed as an assistant coach with Akhmat Grozny.