Is footballer Yaya Toure getting enough respect? The Ivorian and Manchester City midfielder says he doesn’t get the respect he deserves because he’s from Africa, according to an ESPN FC report.

Toure told BBCSport a star like Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is recognized worldwide as a top player, but those from Africa are not.

“If you go to any part of Africa now, people will say, ‘Yes, we know (Messi)’, but when you come to Europe and say ‘Yaya Toure,’ people will say, ‘Who is that?'” Toure said. “Some will say they know my name but not know my face. But they will know Messi’s face.”

From the Ivory Coast, Toure has won league titles in Spain, England, Greece and his
home country, and he’s on the six-man shortlist for the Professional Footballers’ Association’s player of the season award.

And the 30-year-old echoed club colleague Samir Nasri of France who claims that only Toure’s birthplace has blocked him from being hailed one of the best midfielders in the world.

“I think what Samir was saying was definitely true,” Toure told BBC Sport.”To be honest, proper recognition has only come fromthe fans. I don’t want to be hard and I don’t want to be negative, but I want to be honest.”

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o and Ivorian Didier Drogba have reached the top level of European football. “Those players are more than legends for me and Africa,” Toure said. “I am very proud to be African, I want to defend African people and I want to show to the world that African players can be as good as the Europeans and South Americans.”

Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez is widely considered an odds-on favorite for the PFA award as the top player in English football. Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard are also ahead of Toure in betting odds.

Toure said he would be unhappy to miss out, according to the ESPN FC report: “As a champion, as a winner, I always want to win.”