Cote D’Ivoire stalwart Yaya Toure has announced his retirement from international soccer with immediate effect, meaning that he will no longer feature for the Ivorian national team on the international stage.
The combative midfielder surprised many with his announcement, despite the fact that the 33-year-old has enjoyed a long and fruitful career with the Elephants, as the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is only a few months away and will see Cote D’Ivoire attempting to defend the title they won two years ago at the 2015 edition.
The tournament in Gabon this January could have been the ideal swansong for the highly-respected Toure, who was named African Player of the Year on four consecutive occasions since 2001.
The Manchester City midfielder played a total of 102 games for Cote D’Ivoire, scoring 19 goals in the process. He was part of the squad for all three of his nation’s World Cup appearances in 2006, 2010 and 2014, while he also represented his country at six AFCON tournaments, with the team being runners-up in 2006 and 2012, before victory in 2015.
He captained the team from 2014, leading them to elusive glory at the Nations Cup two years ago in Equatorial Guinea, with a tense penalty shootout against Ghana going the way of the Elephants.
At club level he has been highly successful, winning league titles for Barcelona in Spain and Manchester City in England, while he twice won the UEFA Champions League with Barca. He continues his club career at Man City, though troubles with new coach Pep Guardiola and the player’s agent have him struggling to get game time at the moment.
The decision to retire from the national team may also be geared at prolonging his club career, as well as focusing more time on his family.
The news was conveyed via his official Twitter account and website, with the midfielder releasing a long statement that detailed his decision and looked back on his international career.
“THANK YOU to the Elephants! Writing this note was probably ‘the most difficult match of my life’. After 14 years at the highest level, I’m sure this is the right time for me! The fact that I am 33 now, the intensity of training and the multitude of games are not the reasons why I am making this decision,” his official statement began.
“Football is everything to me and it gave me so much in my career that I no longer feel able to set myself new goals as a player with the Elephants of Ivory Coast. This decision I have made has come gradually, it has slowly matured in my head,” Toure revealed.
“I definitely thought it necessary wait until the qualifying stages for the next AFCON were over. It was also important for me that I do not disturb the dynamics of the national team,” the player added.
Much of the statement was dedicated to thanking important people and describing some of the difficulties involving the death of his mother and one of his brothers, who both passed away while he was on national team duty.
After thanking fans, journalists, friends and others who played a role in his career, he proceeded to thank his family.
“I thank my family, my father, my brothers and my sisters who all supported me. I will always and forever feel blessed to have been born into such an exemplary family because without them I would never have been anything, or won what I have won, today,” he said.
“I pay tribute to my wife and to my children, for whom I must spend a lot more time with, above all.”
He ended his statement with a glimpse into what he will continue to focus on in the absence of national team soccer.
“I can still bring a lot to the players, to the youth of my country and to the African continent and to the world. I would like to give the children what football has given me. Football gave me a lot. It taught me many things, things of life. This is one of the most important lessons in my life. Thank you! God bless you!”
