Yaya Toure talks Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Henry, time at Barcelona

Yaya Toure was the latest guest in Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, where he majorly discussed his spell in England and Manchester City.

However, the midfield legend also looked upon his time at Barcelona, offering anecdotes about former teammates such as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, among others.

Yaya Toure on playing for Barcelona

Toure played for Barcelona between 2007 and 2010, during which he featured in 118 competitive matches for the club.

“I’ve always told myself that Barcelona’s style is the most suitable for me in playing football, given the academy that relies on the tiki-taka style,” he said.

Toure went on to reveal how enthusiastic he was about playing for Barcelona in the earlier parts of his career.

“When I moved to play in Europe, my goal was to play for Barça. I joined the team at the age of 26, and I was surrounded by experienced players like Edmilson, Thiago Motta. In addition to players like Xavi and Iniesta. Eto’o and Henry were there too,” he said.

Ferdinand then asked about the 2009 Champions League final, when he played against Toure’s Barcelona side. Interestingly, the Ivorian operated in a centre-back role in that game.

“To be honest, I was really scared. First, because I was playing in a Champions League final, and second, because it was the first time I played as a centre-back. If we had lost, the fingers would’ve been pointed at the inexperienced player playing out of position,” he said.

“I remember when I was told I’d play in that position, Eto’o touched my knee and said to me: But you don’t play in that position.

“Busquets was hesitant about playing there, so Pep came to me and asked me to play in that position because of my physical build. When you see that you’re going to face players of Ronaldo and Rooney’s calibre, it’s considered a huge sacrifice,” he revealed.

Yaya Toure was then asked about the iconic team of 2009 and where he would rank the team in the annals of history.

“The best, without a doubt. During that period, there were Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Eto’o at their peak. Henry with his experience after winning every possible title. In 2009, we won every possible title, six titles in one year. It was a perfect team,” he explained.

Toure on Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Ronaldinho

Toure went on to talk about some select individuals that he played with during his time at Barcelona, notably naming Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o as players who impressed him the most upon his arrival in Catalonia.

“Samuel Eto’o, and Thierry Henry too. Sharing the dressing room with Henry meant a lot to me, his commitment and discipline. That was the mentality I wanted to bring later to Manchester City,” he said.

The Ivorian midfielder also shared an anecdote about Ronaldinho, stating, “In my early days with Barcelona during training, Ronaldinho seemed ordinary. But one day he came to me and said, “Be careful, Yaya, if you get close to me, I’ll make you a laughing stock.”

“I thought he was just joking, but every time I got near him, he’d nutmeg me.”

Talking about Xavi and Iniesta, Toure revealed that they were brilliant in training and had a rather simple dressing sense.

“Iniesta and Xavi never lost the ball in training. As brilliant as they were, they were very simple. I was always laughing at their simple style of dressing,” he said.

Finally, Yaya Toure talked about Lionel Messi and how he was always protected in training and how Barcelona players would often pass to him.

“Everyone protected him, because we knew he was a talented player and we recognized how good he was. That was very beneficial for the club.

“We were happy when opponents pressed us high. Because we simply, without thinking, would try to pass the ball to him immediately,” he concluded.