Yaya Touré accuses Pep Guardiola of racism against "Africans"

Ivorian superstar Yaya Toure has alleged Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola of seeking “revenge” against him. In a hard-hitting interview to be aired on Tuesday by France Football, Toure claimed that the Guardiola’s reputation is ‘a myth’ and that he did everything possible just to
spoil his last season at the club.

Toure believes he was unfairly singled out and accused that Guardiola deliberately refused to select him for matches out of spite. The 35 years old Ivorian left Manchester City in May after eight seasons at the club but became progressively marginalized as they claimed the English Premier League title with a record number of points.

He said: “Pep Guardiola was cruel with me. I don't think he could’ve done this to Andres Iniesta? It got to a point I asked myself if it’s  due to my color. I’m not the first to be treated this way by Pep; other players in Barçelona used to ask the question too,”

“Maybe we Africans players aren’t always treated the same by certain people. When you see the problems that Pep has often had with other African players, everywhere he has been, I begun to ask myself questions,” Yaya said.

 “Guardiola is too intelligent to be caught. He will never admit it that he doesn’t like Africans) but the day he picks a team with 5 Africans in, I promise I will send him a cake!”
The Ivorian star had to wait until their final premiership home match against Brighton last month for his first premier league start of the season.

He continued: “I personally think I was dealing with someone who just wanted retaliation on me, I don’t know why but I have the impression that he was envious of me, that he took me for a rival. There you have it. We always viewed each other strangely. He was revolving around me without saying anything, observing me, gauging me, but not talking to me. Yet he knows that I fluently speak Spanish, Catalan and English. It should be enough to communicate both. But apparently that wasn’t the case … Everytime we passed each other, he seemed humiliated. As if I made him a little self-conscious….”

To mark his departure last month, Manchester city chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak organized for the club’s main training pitch to be named after Yaya Touré in appreciation of his contribution to the club. A tiled painting of the midfielder celebrating his winning goal against Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final also stands as a perpetual memorial, although the man who won seven trophies in his spell in Manchester City admitted his memories will always be tarnished by the circumstances of his departure.

The African superstar hailed City’s title winning season as the “perfect” goodbye, but there was a unpleasant element to his departure and he blames Pep for it.

“Pep was a hypocrite praising me but I let him do it,” Yaya clarified. “I would’ve preferred to have no ceremony and leave with my head higher. I have the impression that Pep, without respect and appreciation, did everything to tarnish my final season. It hurts when you spent 8 seasons in a club. He stole my farewells with Manchester city, a club where the fans are beautiful.

I would’ve liked to leave with emotion of this club as could Iniesta or Buffon. But Guardiola prevented me. The worst part is that at the end I was pleased to leave this club that yet I loved so much. I was discouraged and so I felt abandoned, neglected. If I did not shed tears at the time of the goodbyes with the followers, it’s because there was a break and I could not see this guy anymore.”

Toure further clarified that he wants to be the one to peel back Pep’s fake mask: “Actually, I want to be the one who halts the Guardiola myth a bit. Fc Barcelona, he didn’t invent it. He just had the intellect to adapt what Cruyff had set up. At Munich and City, Pep also tried to repeat the same patterns but with this prerequisite: working with ‘his’ players and with almost limitless means.

Yaya Toure made over 300 appearances since joining Manchester City from Barcelona in 2010, scoring 79 times in all competitions. He assisted them to three league crowns, 2 League Cups, one FA Cup and a Community Shield.