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Paul Merson's 42-Word Column On Yaya Toure When He Signed For Manchester City In 2010 Is Gold

Paul Merson's 42-Word Column On Yaya Toure When He Signed For Manchester City In 2010 Is Gold

He couldn't have been more wrong...

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

He lifted three Premier League titles, three League Cup's and an FA Cup during his time at Manchester City and cemented himself as one of the greatest Premier League players ever.

Yaya Toure, who turns 37-years-old today, will go down in history for sure.

But so will Paul Merson's infamous quote about the Ivorian midfielder when he first signed for the club.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Back in 2010, the pundit was tasked with showering us all with his insight and knowledge on summer transfers.

And the real gem came when discussing former Barcelona midfielder Toure.

Merson describes the Ivorian as "an average player" that didn't have goalscoring or goal-creating abilities in his locker.

He then told us how he was nothing more than an "OK holding midfield player" who didn't add anything that Gareth Barry, Patrick Vieira and Nigel De Jong, all playing for City at the time, didn't already bring to the table.

No seriously, he said this.

It's fair to say Merse was a tad wrong with his predictions.

Toure thrived at the Etihad, arguably becoming the club's greatest ever player while earning a reputation for producing big moments in big games.

The FA Cup semi-final and final in 2011 to give City their first trophy in 35 years, for example, is a stand out moment, and so was his brace against Newcastle to basically hand them the Premier League title in 2012.

Or that decisive spot-kick against Liverpool in the 2015/16 EFL Cup final.

There's so many instances where he rose to the occasion.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Perhaps his best season came in 2013/14 under Manuel Pellegrini. He netted 20 Premier League goals from midfield, as well as chipping in with nine assists.

Toure will surely go down as one of the Premier League's greatest midfielders.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics:Β Manchester City, Football, Paul Merson, Yaya Toure