Yaya Touré

Yaya Touré
Touré in 2013
Personal information
Full name Gnégnéri Yaya Touré[1]
Date of birth (1983-05-13) 13 May 1983[2]
Place of birth Bouaké, Ivory Coast
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Saudi Arabia (assistant)
Youth career
1996–2001 ASEC Mimosas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Beveren 70 (3)
2003–2005 Metalurh Donetsk 33 (3)
2005–2006 Olympiacos 20 (3)
2006–2007 Monaco 27 (5)
2007–2010 Barcelona 74 (4)
2010–2018 Manchester City 230 (62)
2018 Olympiacos 2 (0)
2019 Qingdao Huanghai 14 (2)
Total 470 (79)
International career
2004–2015 Ivory Coast 101 (19)
Managerial career
2021 Olimpik Donetsk (assistant)
2021 Akhmat Grozny (assistant)
2022–2023 Tottenham Hotspur (academy coach)
2023 Standard Liège (assistant)
2023– Saudi Arabia (assistant)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Ivory Coast
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2015
Runner-up 2012
Runner-up 2006
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team.

Touré aspired to be a striker during his youth[4] and has played centre-back, including for Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final.[5] However, he spent the majority of his career as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country, where he has been regarded as one of the world's best players in his position.[6] One of the greatest African players of all time, Touré was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.[7][8]

Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut at age 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. He had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos and Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 100 matches for the club and was part of the historic Barcelona team that won six trophies in a calendar year, in 2009. In 2010, Touré moved to Premier League club Manchester City, where he scored a number of key goals, most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final. He also helped City earn their first league title in 44 years.

Touré earned 100 caps for the Ivory Coast from 2004 to 2015, representing the nation at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also represented them in six Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while captaining them to victory in 2015. He is the younger brother of fellow former footballer Kolo Touré who was his teammate at Manchester City and the national team.

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 presented by Toyota: List of players: FC Barcelona" (PDF). FIFA. 1 December 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Yaya Toure". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Yaya Touré: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Yaya Toure". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  5. ^ White, Duncan (23 May 2009). "Manchester United v Barcelona: Yaya Toure is Barca's unlikely defender". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Yaya Toure still has something to offer a Premier League club despite turning 35". ESPN. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Toure crowned African Player of the Year 2011". Lagos: Confederation of African Football. 22 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Manchester City's Yaya Touré named African Player of the Year once more". The Guardian. No. 8 January 2015. London. Press Association. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
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