Yaya Toure's response when asked if he's in the top 20 midfielders in Premier League history has stunned everybody

Yaya Toure has given a very clear response after being asked if he is among the top 20 Premier League midfielders of all time.

The retired Ivory Coast midfielder spent almost a decade in the English top flight after joining Manchester City from Barcelona back in 2010 for a reported fee of £24 million.

Toure went on to become one of the key players at the Etihad Stadium after helping City to win three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

Across eight seasons, Toure scored 79 goals in 318 games across all competitions under the management of bosses Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola.

Toure left City in the summer of 2018 on a free transfer and later moved to Greek side Olympiacos, before a final move to Chinese side Qingdao the following year led to him eventually deciding to depart the now-dissolved club at the start of 2020 and hang up his boots.

Among many fans and commentators, Toure would be among the candidates when it comes to compiling a list of the best midfielders to grace the Premier League.

Toure was voted as City's player of the season in the 2013/14 campaign after he netted 24 goals across all competitions, and was also named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on two occasions.

Of course, there is a long list which could be reeled off when it comes to talking about the best-ever Premier League midfielders, including Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, David Silva, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Kevin De Bruyne and Cesc Fabregas to name just a few.

Having won the Premier League title three times, many would include Toure in the conversation to be up there with some of the best to have graced the engine room in the English top flight over the past three decades.

But when the question of whether Toure would make a list of the top 20 best all-time Premier League midfielders was put to him by GOAL, the man himself gave an extraordinary answer where he distanced himself from that suggestion and made it clear he respects the many diverse opinions on the matter from fans.

Much to the surprise of the interviewer who asked the question, Toure said: "No. I've never been involved in a lot of things when it's coming to the decision.

"And fans and people sometimes see different - everyone has an opinion.

"I accept that."