Why I wanted Manchester City to sign ex-Liverpool star Sadio Mane — Yaya Toure

Manchester City legend Yaya Toure has revealed how it was his dream to play with Senegal’s superstar Sadio Mane in the Premier League. 

Toure says he wanted to play alongside Mane while he was still at Southampton. 

Mane proved to be a standout performer at St. Mary’s, where he scored 21 goals in 67 appearances in the Premier League.

Mane’s brilliant displays at now relegated Southampton eventually earned him a big money move to Man City rivals, Liverpool in the summer of 2016. 

According to City great, Toure, he had asked his club then to sign the talented Senegalese as he he wanted to play alongside him before he made the move to Anfield.

Speaking on Africa’s best player in the Premier League during an appearance on BBC’s Match of the Day, the former Ivory Coast always knew Mane would be great. 

"I always wanted to play with him [Mane]," Toure said.  "When I was at City, at the time when he was at Southampton, I highly regarded him and I was asking some of my superiors to just sign him. But in the end, it just didn't happen.

"After that Klopp had the eyes to get him and now look what he did for Liverpool, he was brilliant. I like him, I like him as a player."

Mane has since left the Premier League for the Bundesliga following a 35 million pounds move to Bayern Munich from Liverpool last summer. 

Speaking further on the Senegalese hero, who led his nation to their first-ever AFCON title in Cameroon, Toure added that the 32-year-old is a great human and example on and off the field. 

"The way he deals with things smoothly and the support he gives back to his people in his country is incredible, with what he's been involved with," Toure added.

"Some days I get mad when I read media about him and a journalist will ask him, 'Why don't you have a Ferrari and things', and he says, 'No, I don't need it, I prefer to have a normal car than have a Ferrari'.

"Two months later we see him, he's been doing things back in his home country, he's a big example."

Mane scored 120 goals in 269 games and won six major honours at Anfield while Toure was a key part of the team that led Manchester City to their first Premier League and FA Cup titles in the modern era during an eight-year spell.