Man City leave Yaya Toure out of Champions League squad

Yaya Toure

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has left midfielder Yaya Toure out of his 2016-17 Champions League squad.

City could not include more than 17 overseas players in their squad.

And Guardiola still has 18 on his books, despite letting four foreign internationals leave before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

Clubs can change three players after the group stage but Toure, 33, will not be able to play against Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic and Barcelona.

The Ivory Coast international has played a major part in all City’s trophy wins since he was bought from Barcelona, then managed by Guardiola, for £24m in 2010.

He has only played once this season, in the second leg of the Champions League play-off against Steaua Bucharest, when City were already 5-0 up from the first game.

It was rumoured Toure might leave the club following Guardiola’s arrival, with Inter Milan one of the clubs who were interested.

However, the player never had any desire to leave City and intends to see out his contract, which expires in 2017.

The 17 overseas players Guardiola has chosen include new signings Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan, who are yet to play for the club, skipper Vincent Kompany, who is recovering from groin and thigh operations which kept him out of Euro 2016, and 19-year-old forward Kelechi Iheanacho.

Source: BBC

Comments

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg

FG berates US congressman over comment

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture Photo: Femi Ipaye/PM News The Federal Government has described as sadly out of tune with reality the published letter from US Congressman Tom Marino to Secretary of State John Kerry, asking the US to withhold security assistance to Nigeria on the strength of some imaginary infraction by the Buhari Administration. In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what is nothing but a ‘propaganda of his own imagination’. The Minister said by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the Congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues. ”Insecurity anywhere i

Aubameyang leads Gabon to Nations Cup

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the cast for Gabon as the hosts became the first team to name their final 2017 Africa Cup of Nations squad. The team captain and Borussia Dortmund star will lead the home players out for the opening game of the tournament against debutants Guinea-Bissau on 14 January in Libreville. Gabon have also named Sunderland midfielder Didier Ndong despite the player being left out of November’s World Cup qualifier in Mali. Ndong was in the capital city Libreville but failed to turn up for international duty ahead of the Mali game last month, forcing the Gabonese Football Federation [Fegafoot] to send him back to England. But a remorseful Ndong, who held clear-the-air talks with Fegafoot has been included in a 23-man Panthers squad. Other names to make the final party include Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina, Bruno Ecuélé Manga of Cardiff City and China-based striker Malick Evouna. Gabon coach José Antonio Camacho included three do

Global Naija Info

Search This Blog