Yaya Touré

Off pitch, Ivorian Yaya Touré keeps things simple. He’s a family man. (His brothers Kolo and Ibrahim are also professional footballers.) He’s not a technology freak. He never forgets his roots and regularly gives PUMA football equipment to children in West Africa. When he’s far from home, he says it’s the people that he misses most. On pitch? Sentimentality ends. Touré transforms into one of the fiercest players in the game today. An intercontinental player – he’s kicked and scored from Ivory Coast to Ukraine to Greece to Monaco to England and back again – Touré grew up as a striker and was trained at ASEC Abidjan. At 18 he moved to Beveren but a few seasons later, with AS Monaco, he exploded and revealed his skills: a dynamic box-to-box technique and a “colossal” physical presence. He went on to make an even greater name for himself with FC Barcelona, collecting 6 titles in 2009 alone. Touré signed with Manchester City in July 2010. In his first season, he helped lead his team’s “Citizens” to their first trophy in 35 years. Named African Footballer of the Year in 2011 and 2012, one thing is for certain: Touré’s on a hot streak and has no intention of cooling off.