Midfielder Yaya Toure accused Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola of having “problems with Africans” in an interview to be published on Tuesday by France Football magazine.
“He insists he has no problems with black players, because he is too intelligent to be caught out,” Toure said. “But when you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions.”
“I’m not the first to talk of these differences in treatment. At Barcelona I know that some also asked questions.”
“Last summer, when Pep brutally got rid of (Wilfried) Bony, who had been signed a year earlier for a huge sum, I asked questions,” Toure said.
Toure complained that Guardiola “did everything to ruin my last season” and to prevent him enjoying the sort of farewell fanfare that Andres Iniesta received this season at Barcelona and Gianluigi Buffon did at Juventus.
“He stole my farewells with City. I would have liked to leave this club with emotion, as Iniesta and Buffon were able to do. But Pep stopped me.”
Toure said that he felt he was capable of another couple of seasons at the highest level. For that reason, despite the urgings of his agent, Dimitri Seluk, Toure had turned down big offers from China over the past year.
“I want a nice challenge in Europe,” he said