When Manchester City signed Yaya Toure in the summer of 2010, it was clear to see that the club meant business.
Considering Toure had won the Champions League at Barcelona in 2009, it came as a massive surprise that Manchester City were able to sign him in the first place.
But it seemed like Yaya Toure had confidence from day one that City’s project would explode into life.
Chelsea tried to sign Toure alongside Manchester City at the time but their attempt to do so failed.
Yaya Toure, who is a hero to Matheus Nunes was one of the leading men of Manchester City’s rise and naturally, he had a big say at the club back when he first signed.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Yaya Toure told Man City to sign Sergio Aguero and three other players
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his official podcast, Toure revealed that City even seeked his advice on which players to sign.
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The Ivorian had played with some of the best players in the world at Barcelona, from Lionel Messi to Andres Iniesta and he had a clear idea of the personnel a side needed to dominate European football.
Yaya Toure did not shy away from recommending players, naming Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri as potential targets for Manchester City at the time.
Thankfully for the three-time Premier League winner, all four players signed for City as he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “Man City gave me the key to be able maybe to discuss with some of the people in the board and said, because there was, in that period, there was the period where they were asking, Yaya, which player you wanted, because of my experience, my knowledge.”
The veteran was asked: “They would say to you, like, we’re recruitment, listen, who do you think would be good for us?”
Yaya Toure mentioned that apart from Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Eden Dzeko and Samir Nasri, he recommended Manchester City to sign more names as well: “I was saying, Aguero, Samir Nasri, Silva as well. I was mentioning, Dzeko. A lot of players, you know.”
Yaya Toure record with Aguero, Silva, Nasri and Dzeko at Man City
Alongside all the aforementioned players, the midfield maestro won plenty of trophies.
The quartet played an instrumental role in City’s rise from being a side that could challenge for top four to becoming serial winners.
But here is what Yaya Toure’s record was when playing alongside Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Eden Dzeko and Samir Nasri for Manchester City.
RECORD WITH YAYA TOURE SERGIO AGUERO DAVID SILVA EDIN DZEKO SAMIR NASRI
APPEARANCES 195 244 146 139
WINS 122 159 84 90
DRAWS 30 35 25 18
LOSSES 43 50 37 31
JOINT-GOAL PARTICIPATION 20 10 6 7
Toure and Aguero were involved in the most goals in tandem during their time at the Etihad Stadium.
But Yaya Toure and David Silva played the most games together (244).
Whilst alongside Samir Nasri, Toure lost the least number of games (31).
On the same pitch as Edin Dzeko, Toure had a win percentage of 57.3% — which goes to show that they were a dynamic duo as well.