Yaya Toure gives furious response to Pep Guardiola & Man City 'African curse' claims from former agent: 'Don’t associate me with this nonsense!'
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- Guardiola was apparently 'cursed' by African Shamans
- Agent claimed curse has been lifted
- Toure slams him for "nonsense and lazy stereotypes"
WHAT HAPPENED? Dimitri Seluk, a Russian agent who used to be a representative of Toure, had claimed back in 2018 that Guardiola would not win another Champions League trophy after being cursed by African Shamans for his alleged ill-treatment of the Ivorian. However, Seluk recently claimed that the curse had been lifted, and now he wants City to win the treble as well. Toure was left furious with Seluk and dismissed his comments as "nonsense and lazy" while insisting that the spread of such stereotypes is "harmful".
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WHAT THEY SAID: "My former agent is being quoted by the media about a ‘curse’. Please don’t associate me with this nonsense and lazy stereotypes about African curses!?" Toure wrote on Twitter.
"Media… move on please. This man does not represent me in any way. Amplifying these stereotypes is harmful."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Since his two Champions League wins with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, Guardiola is yet to add a third crown to his impressive trophy cabinet, despite coming agonisingly close on a couple of occasions in the recent past. In the 2020/21 campaign, City lost to fellow Premier League rivals Chelsea in the final, while Real Madrid knocked them out in dramatic fashion last season as they blew a 4-2 lead on aggregate in the dying moments of the semi-final second leg.
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WHAT NEXT? Manchester City are aiming to become only the second English club to win an unprecedented treble, after Manchester United in 1998-99. However, they have a stern test ahead of them when they face Real Madrid again in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash on Tuesday in the Spanish capital, with the return leg at the Etihad Stadium scheduled for May 17.