Manchester City’s Yaya Toure has claimed the club denied him compassionate leave to visit his dying brother – as rumours of a summer Etihad exit grow.
And Toure, who described Ibrahim as his ‘confidant’ and ‘best friend’, has claimed he was stopped from visiting his terminally ill sibling in the wake of City’s Premier League triumph.
“City did not want to give me a few days,” the 31-year old told France Football.
“I went to celebrate in the wake of the league title in Abu Dhabi, while my brother was dying in his bed.
“In retrospect, I regret not having insisted for not making them respect me.
“However, my employers knew that I was suffering for a few months seeing my brother’s health decline.”
The African Player of the Year said he did not feel ‘valued’ and ‘appreciated’ after the incident.
Both Toure brothers will be returning home from the World Cup after their tournament was cut-short in dramatic fashion last night.
The Ivory Coast had been poised to progress to the knock-out stages but a last-minute penalty for Greece sent them to a 2-1 defeat that left saw them crash out of the competition at the group stage for the third consecutive tournament.
Image courtesy of Manchester City FC via YouTube with thanks
