Yaya Toure says he is looking for a “new challenge” as he hopes to turn his Tottenham Under-16s coaching role into a successful managerial career.
Toure, who turned 40 this month, enjoyed a trophy-laden eight-year career at Manchester City between 2010 and 2018. In that time he won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and the Community Shield.
The Ivory Coast great hung up his boots in early 2020 and spent short spells as assistant manager at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian team Akhmat Grozny, both in 2021.
He has been coaching Spurs’ U16 side since August 2022. While he says intends to remain in that role next season, he is currently studying for his UEFA Pro Licence and is open to new opportunities as he aims to embark on a fully-fledged managerial career.
“When I retired, I felt devastated”, he told The Times.
“I couldn’t accept leaving football, but I didn’t have a clue about where to go or what to do. But I wanted to give something back to football. After [starting coaching at Spurs], I fell in love [with football] again.”
He added: “I love doing what I’m doing at Tottenham and what I can carry on giving to them, but now I feel like I’m looking for a new challenge. I dream to one day be a manager.
“We never know in life, maybe I’ll meet Man City one day again.”
