Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure should consider Marseille move - Kolo

Kolo Toure has suggested his brother Yaya should leave Manchester City and revive his career at Ligue 1 side Marseille.

Yaya Toure, 33, has not made a Premier League appearance for City this season after comments by his agent angered boss Pep Guardiola.

The Ivory Coast midfielder apologised last week, fulfilling Guardiola's requirement that he do so in order to be considered for first-team football again.

But speaking to RMC his brother -- who now plays for Scottish club Celtic -- said Marseille's ambitious new project, backed by American owner Frank McCourt, could be the perfect answer.

"Yes, why not? He still has talent and some things to prove. It's certain that it's difficult at City right now," he said.

"We have all been through that. You're at the top at one moment, and then you go back down. You have to understand that you need a change of scenery, go to a place where people want you.

"I haven't spoken about it with him. He's still at City, I respect that. But OM is a super club and he knows the French league well."

More games: friv

Is This The All Time Arsene Wenger XI? Featuring Dutch And English Stars

Arsene Wenger celebrated 20 years in charge of the north London heavyweights on Saturday with a last-gasp win over Burnley. And just to whet one’s fantasy, an all-time great starting eleven under the Professor would have never had it hard against such a side.

In his 2 decades in charge of Arsenal, Wenger has overseen the development of over 200 players, many of whom has gone on to become world beaters and legends.

And here is a list of some of the greatest to ever line up for Arsenal under Arsene.

GK – David Seaman

The England goalkeeping idol is no doubt the best the club ever had in between the sticks. Jens Lehmann might have been calling the shots during the “Invincibles” era, but Seaman’s abilities to make physics-defying saves made him a wonder to watch.

He was revered by fellow goalkeeping greats and went on to scoop 3 league titles, 4 FA Cups and a League Cup in 564 total appearances for the Gunners.

LB – Ashley Cole

Moving to Chelsea might have made Arsenal faithful turn their backs at the ex-England international, but it won’t take away the fact that he was one of best fullbacks the club ever had.

The academy graduate combined his attacking and defensive roles perfectly well, going on to win 2 Premier League titles and 3 FA Cups at the club.

CB – Tony Adams

Mr. Arsenal definitely ticked the boxes during his days. The one-man club is perhaps the greatest club skipper for the north Londoners.

With a record of 669 total appearances for the Arsenal, 2nd on the all-time highest number of appearances, Adams became the first player to captain the team to titles in 3 different decades during his 22-year career.

CB – Laurent Koscielny

Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure were no doubt great central halves in the Arsenal Jersey, but they have got nothing on the France international.

Despite having just 2 F.A Cup winners medal, Koscielny is undoubtedly the complete defending package. Strong in the air, tough but not reckless, and with a keen eye for a goal. Definitely a legend (in the making).

RB – Lee Dixon

Lauren comes close in this position, but Dixon’s swiftness in adapting to Wenger’s style upon the French tactician arrival is noteworthy.

During almost 15 seasons at the club, Dixon was an undisputable 1st choice for 13 consecutive seasons. He won 4 league titles, 3 FA Cups and a League Cup with the club.

CM – Patrick Vieira

Vieira led the side during the 03/04 unbeaten season, and he was the complete box-to-box midfielder.

Upon taking the captaincy band following Tony Adam’s retirement, the French legend helped put the team in shape with his leadership skills. In 9 seasons, he was named in the PFA Team of the year 7 times, and he collected 7 medals.

CM –  Cesc Fabregas

He didn’t manage to win a single title, but he comes out tops ahead the likes of Petit and Ozil. Cesc gave everything to the club and remains one of their best youth products.

He also became their youngest captain, and it’s shameful to hear some ungrateful Arsenal fans boo him these days.

LW – Robert Pires

In just 7 seasons at Arsenal, Pires established himself as a fans favourite for life. With 2 Premier league titles and 3 FA Cups, he almost won it all for Arsenal, until his withdrawal against Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final following Lehman’s sending off.

He was also named in the PFA Team of the Year on 3 occasions.

RW – Freddie Ljungberg

The only Arsenal player to have scored in 3 different FA Cup Finals, the purchase of the Swede was sanctioned by Wenger in 1998, despite having never seen him play.

He rewarded the coach with 72 goals in 328 appearances and 5 trophies. The 2001-02 Premier League Player of the Season now coaches the club’s under-16’s.

CF – Thierry Henry

Arsenal may never again have a player of this calibre in their history. The lethargic goal poacher found the back of the net with reckless abandon in his hay days.

He won the Premier League Golden Boot 4 times and the European Golden Boot twice. The club’s highest goal scorer of all time was so good he had to be lured back for a 2nd stint.

CF – Dennis Bergkamp

The “Non-Flying Dutchman” not only assisted many of Henry’s goals, he also scored a whopping 120 during his 11 seasons at the club.

In Wenger’s first full season in charge, Bergkamp landed 22 league goals, winning the title for the club and getting named as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

Celtic fans react to Kolo Toure's performance against Hearts

The experienced centre-back impressed for Celtic on Sunday.

Celtic started the defence of their Scottish Premiership title with a victory against Hearts on Sunday.

James Forrest opened the scoring for the Bhoys before James Walker equalised from a highly contentious penalty. But Scott Sinclair would make an immediate impact, signing for Celtic, coming off the bench and scoring the winner all on the same day.

While Sinclair obviously got the plaudits it was another recent addition that impressed at the opposite end of the field.

Kolo Toure recently reunited with Brendan Rodgers following his release from Liverpool, and the Ivorian looked a class act at the back.

He will bring some much needed experience to Celtic’s defence and if he can stay fit and available all season he could have a huge impact on the campaign as a whole.

After the match we took to Twitter to see what Celtic fans thought of Toure’s performance and you can read a selection of what we found below:

Brendan Rodgers aiming to take Kolo Toure to Celtic

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is hoping to bring Kolo Toure to new club Celtic, according to reports on Sunday.

The Ulsterman took charge at Parkhead in May, having had a break from management following his sacking by the Reds last October.

Rodgers has been linked with a number of former players already, including Joe Allen and Andre Wisdom, and it now appears that Toure is very much on his radar.

The Scottish Daily Mail report that Rodgers sees the 35-year-old as someone who can significantly bolster Celtic’s back-line, as they prepare for another Scottish Premier League title charge and Champions League football in 2016/17.

With Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata both out of Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers next month, Rodgers is well aware that additions are needed at centre-back as soon as possible.

Toure was released by Liverpool at the end of the season, following three years at Anfield, and it may be that a new challenge in a new country would appeal.

The Ivorian would bring an undoubted winning mentality to the Scottish giants, with multiple honours won throughout an illustrious career.

It is believed that Liverpool considered the idea of offering the former Arsenal and Man City man a coaching role at the club, but he is not ready to retire as a player just yet.

Toure made 71 appearances for the Reds in total, and proved to be an enormously popular figure among both teammates and supporters.

The veteran always gave his all on the pitch, and despite age creeping up on him last season, he produced some exceptional performances in the absence of Mamadou Sakho.

His only Liverpool goal came in the 6-0 win over Aston Villa in February – a memorable moment for anyone associated with the Reds.

Liverpool Stalwart Kolo Touré Could Join Chinese Revolution

Liverpool defender Kolo Touré could be set to finish his career in China, reports the ​Express on Thursday. 

The Ivorian's contract expires on 1 July, and is unlikely to be offered an extension, with Reds manager Jurgen Klopp planning a busy summer. At least one club from the Chinese Super League is said to be ready to pounce should the former Manchester City player not agree a new deal.

Touré, 35, was signed by former manager Brendan Rodgers in 2013, but had fallen down the pecking order by the time Klopp replaced Rodgers last October. 

Mamadou Sakho's ban for failing an anti-doping test in April led to Touré playing a key role during the season's run-in as Liverpool reached the Europa League final, but with the Frenchman likely to be back by the beginning of the new season, and with the signing of Schalke defender Joel Matip already in place, Touré's days at Liverpool look numbered. 

Speaking to the Express about his future, the former Arsenal star said, "I don't know to be honest. We will see what will happen and you will have to ask that question to the manager".

"Of course I want to stay. It's a great club to play in, but the manager has his plan and any decision I will respect".

Touré's future has been the subject of many a discussion, with Rangers manager Mark Warburton reportedly interested in adding him to the newly promoted Scottish club's squad for next season. 

A move to the Far East, however, is likely to be extremely lucrative and represents the chance to play in one of the emerging powerhouses of global football.

In the last transfer window alone, clubs in China spent £208m on international players, with stars such as Porto's Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira of Shakhtar Donetsk, and Roma winger Gervinho amongst those making big money moves.

Maid of £90,000-per-week Liverpool star FLED after being BULLIED by his wife

The former maid of Liverpool star Kolo Toure has told The Sun how she had to quit her job after being bullied and humiliated by the Ivorian’s wife.

Alice Sawyer, 30, was terrified of Awo Toure, who she claims made her call her “Madam”, and carry out “demeaning” tasks such as tying her shoelaces.

Sawyer felt like a “slave” living with the footballer and his WAG, and says that her passport was kept from her when she tried to flee her job last Saturday.

She says that Toure witnessed her mistreatment at the hands of Awo, but did nothing about it.

Her ordeal was only ended when her family rang the police after Awo, 36, refused to return her passport in confrontation which the home help recalled.

“I arrived at the house to get my things and said I was leaving,” she told The Sun.

“She made me open my luggage and turn my things upside down to make sure I hadn’t stolen anything.

“I asked for my passport — they had it because they’d booked a trip to Spain for a Liverpool FC training camp two weeks earlier and needed it for the flight details.

“Awo told me that Mr Toure had it but I’d seen it in the perfume cabinet when I was cleaning.

“She just kept saying, ‘If you want to leave then leave’ but I said I wouldn’t without my passport.

“I was upset and started to feel scared and alone — she was shouting trying to get me out the door.

“She’s a bully and even started filming me in tears sat on the stairs, which made me feel small.

“I was crying down the phone to my sister who was so worried about me she called the police.

“I didn’t know she’d made the call until we saw the car pull up on CCTV cameras. I was so relieved.”

Toure, who earns a reported £90,000 per week at Liverpool, paid Saywer, whose father is English and mother is Filipino, at a rate of £6.63 an hour – below the national minimum wage of £7.20.

Despite Toure’s fortunes, she was paid £350 a week for 12-hour shifts Monday to Friday, and £8 for every extra hour. She would collect an extra £100 for a weekend shift – all cash in hand.

It would take Sawyer fives years to earn what Toure pockets in a week.

Sawyer would send her money home to her mum, who cares for her boys aged three and 12. Former Arsenal centre-back Toure employs four other staff at his £1.75million home in Prestbury, Cheshire.

“I wish I’d never met them. It was awful,” Sawyer added. “I was supposed to be working from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday but often my shift would run on until as late as 3am.

“I was rarely given a day off and would usually work weekends.

“I’d start first thing cleaning the kitchen and then would move on to the whole house — dusting, vacuuming, changing the beds, doing washing and helping prep the food.

“It was non-stop. I was on my feet all the time. All I’d hear was shouting and nagging.

“She even made me call her ‘Madam’ instead of her real name. She’d get angry all the time. No matter what I did it was wrong.

“She’d run her hand over surfaces I’d dusted and make me do it again. She’d get up in my face shouting and pointing her finger.

“I’d been sharing a room with another woman from the Philippines but she didn’t like us being friends. She made me move and sleep in a bedroom with her two eldest kids — even though it was a five-bed house. I didn’t even have space in a wardrobe so I had to live out of a suitcase.”

And we thought Kolo was the nicer of the Toure brothers! Maybe not after all.

Liverpool in perfect preparation for Dortmund as they dismantle Stoke

Jurgen Klopp's men made light work of the visitors in a stellar 4-1 win, giving them the perfect platform to build on ahead of the German side's visit to Anfield

It was difficult to shake the feeling that Liverpool facing Stoke at Anfield on Sunday was like begrudgingly rolling out of bed when you really had to wake up, but absolutely didn’t want to. 

Sandwiched in-between both legs of the Europa League quarter-final against Jurgen Klopp’s old side Borussia Dortmund, it seemed like an unwanted distraction and the kind of game Liverpool would have sleepwalked through in the recent past. 

To avoid exactly that, the Reds boss made seven changes to his side that drew 1-1 at the Westfalenstadion in a tireless encounter, and the combination of fresh legs and players determined to prove themselves saw the hosts superbly oust Stoke 4-1. 

Liverpool may have had an eye on Thursday’s all-or-nothing clash against Dortmund, but it didn’t sidetrack the players selected. Daniel Sturridge, who started on the bench last Thursday, provided a goal and his overall play looked sharper with more steel.



Divock Origi, chosen ahead of the England international at Signal Iduna Park, continued his stellar performance at Dortmund by netting twice against Mark Hughes’ men. He came off the bench to replace teenager Sheyi Ojo, who on his first start for the club, sent Xherdan Shaqiri to buy his dinner as he danced past him to deliver the perfect cross to Sturridge. 

Kevin Stewart, back from an injury lay-off, worked well in tandem with Joe Allen, who won the most interceptions and made the most tackles. In a stat that perhaps summed up the fun Liverpool had, Kolo Toure attempted and completed their top tally of take-ons in the game.

And the four players that started against Dortmund, were selected again versus Stoke and who should line up from the off again on Thursday - Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Alberto Moreno and James Milner - were brilliant. 

The goalkeeper did well to tip a goal-bound Geoff Cameron effort over, while the right-back created two chances and was a constant supply of attacking third passes. Moreno opened the scoring with an scorching shot that had a wicked bend and Milner, wearing the armband, assisted that strike as well as Origi’s first of the evening.



Adam Lallana had told Goal that with four games in 10 days, Liverpool would need to look to the squad in order to stay fresh and that worked brilliantly against Stoke. It was a cunning display by the collective.

Thomas Tuchel had the same idea, making eight changes to his Dortmund side for the Revierderby with Schalke, but that finished in a 2-2 draw.

It was the perfect preparation for Liverpool as they welcome the Bundesliga side to Anfield on Thursday night. They got the job done on Sunday and will be determined to do the same under the floodlights as another top European night awaits.