YAYA TOURE has singled out Andres Iniesta over Lionel Messi and David Silva as the “brutal talent” he learned most from.
The former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder believes the intelligence and concentration of “phenomenal” Iniesta made him unique.
Fellow legend Toure, 39, won LaLiga twice and the Champions League in Spain before three Premier League crowns in eight years at the Etihad.
World Cup-winning Spaniards Iniesta and Xavi formed an iconic tiki-taka partnership for club and country.
And for Ivory Coast hero Toure, now a Tottenham academy coach, stylish midfielders were seemingly a larger influence on him than Messi in attack.
Asked by Marca which player impacted on him most at Barca, he replied: “Iniesta has been a phenomenon.
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“Training with him every day was tremendous luck because I learned a lot.
“He was a different player physically, with a brutal talent.
“How he thought about the game and the intelligence that he had was something that caught my attention and that in football is very important.
“He feels the game and knows how to read it perfectly. He did not lose balls in training and neither in games.
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“He had his own way of concentrating. I have always learned a lot from that player and from Xavi.”
But Toure believes City had their own version of Barca’s three geniuses.
He said: “I have been with Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona, but Silva (now at Real Sociedad) was and is terrific.
“He is an incredibly talented player. Being able to play for so long with him has been great.
“Then there were other stars, like Messi, but they were later and it’s different. Silva has been a differential footballer who sees football like few others.”
Toure tips seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, 36, whose PSG contract runs out this summer, to return to Barca.
He said of the 2022 World Cup winner: “I only see Messi finishing his career in Barcelona.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
