Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 7y

Yaya Toure: I want to finish my playing career at Manchester City

WATFORD -- Yaya Toure says he wants to remain at Manchester City until he retires from football.

Toure, 34, is out of contract with City in the summer and is yet to find out if he will be offered a new deal, although club sources have told ESPN FC that there is a strong chance he will be offered an extension. 

The former Ivory Coast international is one of seven City players whose contracts expire this summer and manager Pep Guardiola told a news conference following the 5-0 victory over Watford on Sunday that a decision on their futures will be revealed soon.

Toure says he can play on for two or three more seasons and insists he is capable of doing a job for Guardiola's side.

"I just want that when I finish I can finish with City. That's what I want, but we will see," Toure told reporters. "You know my intention is not bad. It's just about the fans, the club -- all the time I go on the pitch I'm always grateful.

"What I did for the club they always recognise and it's something special. You can always go somewhere else but where the fans care about you is the most important thing. For me, it's not about the money or other things, it's about the fans and for them I can stay, but we'll see."

Guardiola gave Toure a hug when he was substituted midway through the second half of the win over Watford, and the midfielder says the City boss has always been honest with him, particularly when he left him out of the squad for the three months of the season after comments from his agent Dimitri Seluk.

He also says City will be much stronger in Guardiola's second season and expects them to mount a Premier League title challenge.

"We're like friends because we've known each other for a long time. He knows my limits and he knows what I'm capable of," Toure said of his former Barcelona boss Guardiola. "I always want to play. But he's a great guy -- we've been talking a lot the last six or seven months. He knows what I want and he knows as well what I can do for the team.

"He's a quiet guy of course but people were expecting more from him. We tried to win something this year but it was difficult. In the end, what we have to do is learn from our mistakes at the beginning of the season and next year I think we're going to be much better.

"We talk all the time. What we talk about will stay between us and I think he's the right man to talk to the press about it -- what he wants from me and what he is preparing for me. He's a guy who has always been clear with me to be honest. He never talks on the side, he always talks straight to me."

Toure said it would be very difficult to return to the Etihad Stadium with another club if his contract situation at City is not resolved.

"I want to be honest with the fans because those guys, for all the time I've been playing, those fans have been so special and the club has been good to me," he said.

"I want to go on until the end and the best way is going to be stopping football with City. That would be the best way for me. To be honest, to see me in another shirt would be quite difficult but we'll see. We don't know what's going to happen in the future but we'll see."

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