City midfielder reveals how close he came to joining Serie A giants.
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Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed that he came close to joining Italian side Inter Milan back in 2007 and probably would have ended up there had Roberto Mancini not made his way to Eastlands, the Express reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder is currently enjoying another fine season in the north-west where he is fast establishing himself as the club’s new free kick taker, but he has now admitted that his football career may very well have taken a different route a few years ago.
Toure was in demand when he left French side Monaco, and ended up at Spanish giants Barcelona before making his way to Manchester to join his brother, Kolo, at City, and he claims that the move to Spain almost didn’t happen because he was tempted to head on over to Italy instead.
“I was offered the chance to go to Inter when I was at Monaco,” he said.
“Mancini followed me from 2007, and wanted me in Milan, but I chose Barcelona instead because it was always my dream to play for them.
“Mancini helped me a lot when I arrived in England.
“He taught me so much and is one of my best friends in football.”
Toure ended up making 117 appearances for Barcelona where he won two La Liga titles and a Champions League trophy amongst others over a three year spell.