Manchester City sign Yaya Toure from Barcelona

Manchester City have added more steal to their midfield with the signing of Yaya Toure from Barcelona on a five-year deal.

Yaya Toure, left, in action for Ivory Coast against Brazil during the World Cup.
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MANCHESTER // Manchester City have added more steal to their midfield with the signing of Yaya Toure from Barcelona on a five-year deal. No financial details were disclosed of the move by the 27-year-old, which comes two days after the capture of the Valencia winger David Silva. Toure, who represented Ivory Coast in the World Cup before they were eliminated in the group stage, joins his brother and defender Kolo in Roberto Mancini's Eastlands squad, and will take a holiday before joining City's pre-season tour of the United States. "This is another fantastic signing for Manchester City and I am very pleased Yaya has joined us; he is a very good player," the manager Mancini told the club's website.

"Everyone knows Yaya is a player that we have admired for a long time and we would like to welcome him to Manchester City. He has played at the top level with Barcelona and I am sure his experience and ability will be very important for us." Toure joined the Spanish champions Barcelona from Monaco in 2007 and was part of the Catalan club's Champions League-winning side of 2009. Barcelona confirmed that an agreement had been reached on their website but said: "The final deal is dependent on Yaya Toure resolving once and for all his contractual relationship with Barcelona. "Once the agreement is completely closed, we will make public the economic conditions of the sale." Toure had been pushing for a transfer, unhappy at being used as a substitute for much of last season when he only started 18 times in La Liga. Barca coach Pep Guardiola had been turning increasingly to the Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets, a product of their youth system, for the holding role.

Meanwhile, former England midfielder David Platt has joined City as the first-team coach. Platt, 44, was a teammate of Mancini at Sampdoria. "David brings a wealth of experience to his role as coach here at City, and he will enhance what is already an excellent team of staff at the club," Mancini told the club's website. "We had a great relationship as teammates many years ago and I know he will make an important contribution to the club. "Having David here at the start of pre-season training was an important factor, and I am very pleased that the coaching team will be in place as we prepare for the start of an exciting campaign." Platt, who was capped 62 times by England and also enjoyed spells as a player with Aston Villa, Juventus and Arsenal. He will work alongside assistant manager Brian Kidd and coach Fausto Salsano at Eastlands. * Agencies