Yaya Toure is being made a scapegoat for Manchester City's poor season and under fire manager Manuel Pellegrini is a "weak manager", according to the Ivorian midfielder's agent Dimitri Seluk.
Champions City have faded dramatically since the turn of the year, falling to fourth in the Premier League, and were knocked out of the FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League without reaching the quarter-finals.
Toure, a dominant force in City’s title march last season, has borne the brunt of the criticism and Pellegrini said last week he was unhappy with the 31 year old’s performances.
"Some people at City are trying to blame Yaya for what has happened this season," Seluk told the Sunday Mirror.
“The problem is that City want Yaya to do everything. They want him to score goals, they want him to assist goals, and they want him to defend.
“It is also interesting that City could not win a match when Yaya was away at the African Nations. He cannot do it all on his own. It seems the answer for everything at City is to blame Yaya.”
He added: “I feel sorry for Pellegrini. He is a good coach, but a weak manager.”
Seluk said Toure would have no shortage of suitors should he decide to end his five-year stay at the Etihad Stadium.
“If City want Yaya to leave then they should come out and say so,” he added.
“Two of the biggest clubs have already asked me if he is available and I know that if City said they will sell, then another 10 would call me inside 24 hours.”
City host West Ham United on Sunday.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
