Gnégnéri Yaya Touré

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983), commonly known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Côte d'Ivoire national side. He plays with the name Touré Yaya on his jersey.

Early Career

Gnégnéri Touré Yaya joined ASEC Mimosas youth academy in 1996 on the recommendation of his long-time mentor Patrick van Reijendam. He then moved to Europe where he played for Belgian side Beveren for two-and-a-half years and later for one and a half years at Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk.

Olympiacos

Touré then moved to Olympiacos in 2005. He was nicknamed "the new Patrick Vieira" by his older brother. Before joining Olympiacos, Touré had a trial with Arsenal, starting in a match against Barnet, but subsequently manager Arsène Wenger failed to sign him. Differing reports say this was because he could not secure a work permit or because Wenger believed he was "completely average".

Monaco

After representing Côte d'Ivoire in the 2006 World Cup, Touré was signed by French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in August 2006. He played at the Stade Louis II for one season before leaving for FC Barcelona.

Barcelona

Touré joined Spanish side Barcelona for €9 million and made his official debut for the club on 26 August 2007 during the league opener against Racing de Santander. 

In the 2007 Joan Gamper Trophy match against Internazionale of Italy, Touré scored his first goal for Barcelona in a 5–0 victory. He scored his first official goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Athletic Club on 2 September 2007. His first goal in the Champions League for Barça was against Schalke in the 2007–08 quarter-finals. The goal proved to decide the tie and Barcelona advanced into a semi-final match-up against Manchester United, which they subsequently lost 1–0 over two legs.

During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Josep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio. In the 2009 Champions League Final, he played centre back due to injuries and suspensions of first-choice defenders, despite having only played there twice before for Barcelona. In late June 2010 Barcelona confirmed that Touré was allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Manchester City

On 2 July, Touré signed a five-year deal with Manchester City for a fee of around £24 million and was allocated squad number 42, which is the reverse of the number 24 jersey he sported at Barcelona, since Patrick Vieira had already been allocated that number. The move teamed Touré up with his elder brother Kolo, who signed for City in July 2009. On 28 July, Touré made his debut for City in a pre-season friendly against Club América, which City won 4–1 on penalties after a 1–1 draw with the Mexican side. In his home debut on 7 August, in another friendly match against Valencia, he was named man of the match.

On 14 August 2010, Touré made his Premier League debut in a 0–0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. A week later, Touré impressed in the 3–0 defeat of Liverpool at Eastlands, forming a part of a three man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong. On 19 September, Touré scored his first goal against Wigan Athletic. The goal was scored in the 70th minute and Toure was assisted by Carlos Tévez who scored in that match too. Recently, Touré has been seen to have taken up a more attacking position under Roberto Mancini and has revelled so far, setting up Tévez against Bolton Wanderers. He scored a brilliant left-footed drive against West Ham United and soon scored a second, which was later credited as an own goal because the ball rebounded off the post into Robert Green's back and bounced in. He scored his third goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a delightful counter-attack move, with Yaya making up 90 yards to latch onto the ball and fire if past the goalkeeper, with Manchester City eventually winning 4–3.Touré's fifth goal for City came on the 25 February in a Europa League game against Aris Thessaloniki, the goal was a deflected strike to make the score 3–0 to City.

On 16 April 2011, Touré scored the only goal of the game in a Man of the Match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi final. Touré continued his Wembley success by scoring the only goal in his side's 1–0 win over Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup Final, ending Manchester City's 35 year wait for a major trophy, and writing himself into Manchester City folklore in the process.  The following season began strongly as Manchester City were leading the table for the majority of the season, with Toure playing a vital part in midfield. His efforts were rewarded as he was crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2011, an impressive achievement for a midfielder, since the previous 12 awards have gone to African forwards.