Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has denied “cursing” the club’s current manager, Pep Guardiola, in the UEFA Champions League competitions.
In the viral allegations, Toure reportedly said Guardiola will not win the elite tournament based on how he “mistreated” the Ivorian after his (Guardiola’s) arrival at the club in 2016.
Toure has now said on Twitter that he never made the remarks that have long been attributed to him.
The ex-Barcelona player claimed that his former agent, Dimitri Seluk, was the source of the untrue reports. “My former agent is being quoted by the media about a ‘curse’. Please, don’t associate me with this nonsense and lazy stereotypes about African curses,” Toure tweeted on Monday.
The three-time English Premier League champion said his ex-manager’s remarks “amplify harmful stereotypes” about him and Africa. “Media, move on, please,” he said.
Toure, who joined Manchester City from Barcelona in 2010, left the EPL giants in 2018 after playing two seasons under Pep Guardiola.
Their relationship soured after Toure’s playing time reduced significantly under the Spaniard, prompting Seluk to claim that Guardiola “disliked” African players.
City, who are yet to lift the coveted Champions League trophy, will, on Tuesday night, play away at the Santiago Bernabéu against 14-time winners Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-finals.
In a recent interview with The Mirror, Seluk said this could be City’s season to win their first Champions League trophy.
He said it is high time the “African curse” was lifted. Guardiola, who won two Champions League trophies with Spanish side Barcelona in the 2008-2009 season and the 2010-2011 season, is hoping that City will end his 12-year wait for the crown.
Besides Barcelona and City, Guardiola has also managed German side Bayern Munich for three years (2013-2016), where he won seven titles, except for the Champions League.
Seluk suggested that how Guardiola treated Toure at Bayern and City had raised the “curse of Africans” against the 52-year-old.
After enduring a dull post-City period, Toure announced his retirement from professional football in May 2019.
He is currently an academy coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
