Yaya Toure apologes to Guardiola over agent issue
Out-of-favor City player Yaya Toure has initiated the first step in a reconciliation with his boss Pep Guardiola apologizing for āmisunderstandings from the pastā. After waging months of verbal war, Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk has also finally stepped down to apologize to the Manchester City boss.
When Pep Guardiola decided to leave midfielder Yaya Toure's name out of Manchester City's Champions League squad, the player's agent came out in public launching a scathing attack on the former Barcelona manager. Following this, Guardiola demanded a public apology from the agent and totally isolated Toure at the Etihad Stadium.Ā
But recently, Guardiola admitted that he āwould likeā to bring the Ivorian back into his plans, but admitted that the things happening off the field have made that impossible. Frustrated by all of this, Toure has asked his representative to make peace with the City boss.
Earlier on Friday, Yaya Toure released an official statement
āI wish to apologise ā on behalf of myself and those who represent me ā to the management team and all those working at the club for the misunderstandings from the past. Those statements do not represent my views on the club or the people who work there. I have nothing but respect for Manchester City and only wish the best for the football club,ā the statement read.
āI am immensely proud to have played a part in the clubās history and want to help City succeed further. I live to play football and entertain the fans. On that note, I would like to thank all of the fans for their messages through this difficult period. This means a great deal to me and my family,ā Toure said in the statement.
Following that, his agent has also come out saying that he is ready to do whatever is needed to ensure the best for his client.
āI have spoken to Yaya in the last few days and he has asked me to make the peace with Pep. I agreed with him that I had to do what I could to make the situation
āI am genuine in what I say. I am not an unreasonable man. I donāt think that Pep will ever love me, but the most important thing is that we try to forgive what has happened in the past and develop a new relationship,ā he added.
Seluk also said that he will not be making any more public statements about Guardiola.
āOf course, I hope Pep takes the decision to bring Yaya back into his squad. But even if he doesnāt, I can assure him that I am not going to speak about him
He also revealed that the Catalan's refusal to return his calls had forced him to issue an apology in media.
āI have sent this message because Pep hasnāt returned my calls. I really do hope this can be a new start and that Yaya can help Manchester City to win more trophies."