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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola "often has problems with Africans", says ex-Blues midfielder Yaya Toure.
The Ivorian, who left City in May after eight years at the club, says he wants to "break the myth" about Guardiola, whom he describes as "jealous".
"Maybe we Africans are not always treated by some in the same way as others," said Toure in an interview with France Football.
Premier League champions City have declined to comment on Toure's views.
Before his departure, the club named one of their training pitches after him and unveiled a mosaic of him at their training complex.
This summer they are set to sign France-born Algeria international Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City.
Toure, an Ivory Coast international, played for Guardiola at Barcelona for two seasons until he was sold to City in 2010 for £24m.
He won six major trophies in England but started just one Premier League game in City's latest title-winning campaign - their final home fixture of the season against Brighton.
Prior to that game, Guardiola said: "Yaya came here at the start of the journey. Where we are now is because of what he has done.
"The Brighton game we will give him what he deserves, one of the most beautiful farewells a player can receive."
Toure completed 86 minutes against Brighton, having featured for 142 minutes in the league prior to that this season.
He believes that was "not down to physics", saying he sought data from the club's trainers to compare himself to younger players.
Guardiola won six league titles as a player at Barcelona and has added a further seven as a manager during spells with the Catalan club, Bayern Munich and City.
Toure said: "I do not know why but I have the impression that he was jealous, he took me for a rival. As if I made him a little shade.
"He was cruel to me. I came to wonder if it was not because of my colour.
"I am not the first to talk about these differences in treatment. In Barca, some have also asked the question.
"When we realise he often has problems with Africans wherever he goes, I ask myself questions.
"I want to be the one who breaks the myth of Guardiola."
Toure started 22 league games under Guardiola in the 2016-17 season, and says he was asked to stay for another year, but then used sparingly
Yaya Touré accuses Pep Guardiola of ‘having problems with Africans’ • Former Manchester City player launches attack on manager • Ivorian tells France Football he wants to ‘break Guardiola myth’ Ed Aarons @ed_aarons Mon 4 Jun 2018 23.08 BST First published on Mon 4 Jun 2018 16.31 BST
Yaya Touré Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have refused to comment on Yaya Touré’s accusations but it is understood that the club are disappointed by the remarks. Photograph: Matt West/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock Yaya Touré has launched a broadside at Pep Guardiola, accusing him of “having problems with Africans wherever he goes”, claiming the Manchester City manager’s coaching reputation is “a myth” and that he did “everything to spoil” the Ivory Coast midfielder’s last season at the club.
In an interview with France Football magazine, Touré – who left City in May after eight seasons at the club – attacked his former manager who was also his coach at Barcelona.
Farewell then Yaya Touré, Manchester City’s clanking midfield giant Barney Ronay Barney Ronay Read more “He [Guardiola] insists he has no problems with black players, because he is too intelligent to be caught out,” Touré said in an interview with France Football to be published on Tuesday. “But when you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions. He will never admit it. But the day he will line up a team in which we find five Africans, not naturalised, I promise I will send him a cake.”
City and Guardiola have refused to comment but it is understood that the club are disappointed by the player’s remarks.
Touré, now aged 35, became increasingly marginalised as City claimed the Premier League title last season. It was not the first time he had found himself surplus to requirements under Guardiola, having left his Barcelona side in 2010 to move to the Premier League.
Guardiola has shown a clinical streak throughout his managerial career, dispensing with the former England goalkeeper Joe Hart immediately after his arrival in 2016, for example. Guardiola was the League Managers’ Association manager of the year after City amassed Premier League records of 100 points and 106 goals.
Touré won three league titles with City, including last season, but had to wait until the final home match against Brighton last month for his first Premier League start of the season. In total he played 228 minutes in the league and was left out of the Carabao Cup final victory against Arsenal despite having played in four of the previous ties in the competition.
Sign up for The Fiver, our daily football email. “Pep likes to dominate and wants to have obedient players who lick his hands,” said Touré. “I do not like this kind of relationship. I respect my coach but I am not his thing. Like all players I have bickered with my coaches. But at a certain point men who do not understand each other reconcile. This is not possible with Pep, who is very rigid. The other players will never admit it publicly but some have already told me that they ended up hating him. Because he manipulates and plays a lot with your head.”
Touré added: “I think I was dealing with someone who just wanted revenge on me. I do not know why but I have the impression that he was jealous of me, that he took me for a rival. There you have it. We always looked at each other weirdly. He was spinning around me without saying anything, watching me, gauging me but not talking to me. Yet he knows that I speak Catalan, Spanish and English. It should be enough to communicate. But apparently no ... Every time we passed each other, he seemed embarrassed. As if I made him a little self-conscious. As if, also, he had understood that I knew him perfectly.”
The player also stated that he considered posting his training statistics from the club’s physical trainers on social media in a bid to vent his frustration before deciding against it because he did not want to “hurt the team”.
Deschamps follows Napoleon with enough French class to succeed in Russia Richard Williams Richard Williams Read more Touré said: “As someone proud, he wants to succeed with his players, those he has chosen and not those who have been chosen by others. This is his project. And woe to him who does not belong to it. Actually I want to be the one who breaks the Guardiola myth a bit. Barcelona, he did not invent it. He just had the intelligence to adapt what Cruyff had set up. Then, at Bayern and City, he tried to reproduce the same patterns but with this requirement: working with ‘his’ players and with almost unlimited means. It would not work at Crystal Palace or Watford.
“For me Zidane is bigger because he has fewer requirements and shows great respect for all his players. Pep, he wants to be considered a genius. He loves it. But there is a lot of comedy behind all this, it’s a bit of anything. He creates a character. When I see him scratching his head in full match to show that he thinks thoroughly, it makes me laugh. It’s comedy.”
To mark his departure last month the City chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, arranged for the club’s main training pitch to be named after Touré in recognition of his contribution. A tiled mural of the midfielder celebrating his winning goal against Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final also stands as a permanent memorial, although the man who won seven trophies in his spell in Manchester said his memories will always be marred by the circumstances of his departure.
Guardiola promised “a beautiful farewell” for Touré and joined a ceremony at the end of the player’s last game for the club, the 3-1 home win over Brighton, where Touré was hailed by City fans and the captain, Vincent Kompany, offered warm praise for his team-mate. But Touré told France Football. “I would have preferred to have no ceremony and leave with my head higher. I have the impression that Pep, without acknowledgment or respect, did everything to spoil my last season. It hurts when you spent eight years in a club. He stole my farewells with City, a club where the fans are beautiful. I would have liked to leave with emotion of this club as could Iniesta or Buffon. But Pep prevented me. The worst part is that aAt the end I was happy to leave this club that yet I loved so much. I was frustrated and so I felt neglected, neglected. If I did not shed tears at the time of the goodbyes with the supporters it’s because there was a break and I could not see this guy any more.”
Pep, he wants to be considered a genius. He loves it. But there is a lot of comedy behind all this, it’s a bit of anything. He creates a character. When I see him scratching his head in full match to show that he thinks thoroughly, it makes me laugh. It’s comedy.
It wasn't that long ago the Yaya claimed he wasn't considered for the Ballon D'or because he was black, now that he can't get a game for City it's because he's African. He also can't seem to make up his mind if Pep is xenophobic or racist, or maybe both.
He seems like a world class pumpkin; we definitely got the cool brother.
Kluivert's to be interviewed for the St Mirren job
It's only been about a week since Jack Ross left but in that time St Mirren's attempts to recruit a new manager have been about as entertaining shambolic as can be expected.
Kluivert's to be interviewed for the St Mirren job
It's only been about a week since Jack Ross left but in that time St Mirren's attempts to recruit a new manager have been about as entertaining shambolic as can be expected.
Any decent youth coaches kicking around?
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