Midfielder says his priorities lie with Manchester City and he will need to make a decision regarding his future
Decision time: Toure may call time on his international career Photo: EPA
Yaya Toure is considering international
retirement with the Ivory Coast in order to prolong his club career at
Manchester City.
Toure, 32, is
expected to be named in the Ivorian squad in the coming days for the
games against Morocco and Ghana next month after helping his country win
the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea earlier this year.
Toure in action for Ivory Coast
But having pledged his commitment to City at the end of last season
following lengthy speculation of a move away from the Etihad, the former
Barcelona midfielder is now contemplating focusing purely on club
football.
“It’s Manchester City first,” Toure said. “But for this month, I stay quiet and do what I have to do.
“For me, the most important thing is the challenge. I love challenges, I love to lift trophies and I don’t want to talk about those things at the moment and stay focused.
Toure played in the Capital One Cup for City, too
“They (Ivory Coast) know what I am capable of doing and how much pressure I take for the young players and sometimes the people cannot accept (players retiring). It’s difficult for them.
“But for me, I have to look at myself. I’m a good competitor and always want to improve, always want to be at the top.
“It’s very difficult in football, very hard. You have to be 100 per cent fit all the season, so we will see.
“In the future I will make a decision, but for the moment no, because we have important games.”
City travel to Tottenham on Saturday aiming to bounce back from last Saturday’s home defeat against West Ham, which ended an eleven-game winning run in the league.
Vincent Kompany returns from injury this weekend
Manager Manuel Pellegrini admits his team must overcome a number of injuries to maintain their position at the top of the table.
“The injuries at this moment are Mangala, Clichy, Fabian Delph, David Silva, Wilfried Bony and Kelechi,” Pellegrini said. “Those are the six players that are injured. Kompany is back, Joe Hart is back, Samir Nasri is back.
“A lot of players are out with different injuries. That is why I say it is important to have a squad because you are going to win or lose the title by just one point or two points.”
“For me, the most important thing is the challenge. I love challenges, I love to lift trophies and I don’t want to talk about those things at the moment and stay focused.
Toure played in the Capital One Cup for City, too“They (Ivory Coast) know what I am capable of doing and how much pressure I take for the young players and sometimes the people cannot accept (players retiring). It’s difficult for them.
“But for me, I have to look at myself. I’m a good competitor and always want to improve, always want to be at the top.
“It’s very difficult in football, very hard. You have to be 100 per cent fit all the season, so we will see.
“In the future I will make a decision, but for the moment no, because we have important games.”
City travel to Tottenham on Saturday aiming to bounce back from last Saturday’s home defeat against West Ham, which ended an eleven-game winning run in the league.
Vincent Kompany returns from injury this weekend
Manager Manuel Pellegrini admits his team must overcome a number of injuries to maintain their position at the top of the table.
“The injuries at this moment are Mangala, Clichy, Fabian Delph, David Silva, Wilfried Bony and Kelechi,” Pellegrini said. “Those are the six players that are injured. Kompany is back, Joe Hart is back, Samir Nasri is back.
“A lot of players are out with different injuries. That is why I say it is important to have a squad because you are going to win or lose the title by just one point or two points.”
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