Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Agent Toure putting pressure on renewal talks

Asked about the renewal of the contract of Barcelona defensive midfielder and Ivorian international Yaya Touré (26) (read more here), the player's agent Dmitri Seluk has urged the club in an interview with Barcelona sports paper Sport to come up with a decent offer:

"Barcelona isn't complying with the gentlemen's agreement we had reached. Laporta always says that Valdés is the best goalkeeper in the world, he's praising Messi, Xavi, Iniesta... But nothing about Touré. If he isn't good enough to play in this team, well that's it.

He has been here for two years earning a minimum wage. He's earning a lot less than other starters and even less than team-mates who almost aren't playing. We've always believed in the words of the club, but they aren't respecting them. As he's a professional player and given that the club doesn't respect what they promised, he would have to leave and that would be a shame because he's feeling very comfortable at the club and the city. He has very well adapted.

Look, Touré has done everything for Barça and he has always thought about the team. He didn't cause any problem. I remind you that he played a lot of games while being injured last season. And this season, he had to play as centre-back after Márquez got injured and he did it without complaining while Keita, for example, said he didn't want to play as left-back in the Champions league final.

That's why I think he deserves to be rewarded by Barça. In the end, the player will make the decision. There are a lot of clubs interested in Touré. He won't go to Arsenal because he has better offers. He won't go to Germany either. If he leaves, his future would be in England or Italy."

In an interview with Catalan radio station RKB, Seluk seemed more open to a quick solution: "When he signed his contract in 2007, Barcelona promised him a renewal when he played 50 per cent of the games. Now they forgot about that and they have a problem. There's no player in Europe who continues to earn the same in a big club as he did in a small club.

Barcelona has a problem with the player. I don't know how long it will take to find a solution, one week, ten days? When his contract has been renewed, there won't be any problem. Everything will be fine if Barcelona respects the promises they've made to Yaya, like they've always done so far."

Read more:
Toure rejects first renewal offer
Barcelona could consider to sell Toure
Manchester City prepares summer bid for Toure

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

man give that guy what he deserves after all he did for us.

Je me'apelle Samuel said...

Yea no joke "Pay the man his money"...and his raise better not be in bananas...whatsup with laporta and him not paying his black players?

Anonymous said...

omg. almost got a heart attack seeing this. i love this guy to the MAX. Please give him what he deserves. WE LOVE HIM.

Hadi, Tehran said...

he is the best defensive mid fielder in the world and if barca lose him, they can't replace him easily.... Barca should pay him what he deserves....Last season he was the only player that played football and this year he was fantastic....COME ON BARCA DON'T LET HIM GO...

Aussie Barca Fan said...

He has earnt a good renewal. It doesn't seem he is asking for outrageous amounts of money. The fact is he deserves a good PAY RISE. We are not a selling club and should pay him what he is worth for a starting player.

Tudor said...

If they do not want to offer him new contract then they are nogotiating with Liverpool for Mascherano...If we buy him Toure will be sold but if not he will get his better contract...that is my opinion

groga said...

Agents shouldn't talk so much. I'm sure they're working on a good offer, certainly after he proved his potential at centre-back too.

AJ said...

Shit, Yaya's agent is one money hungry bastard. Though it's tru Joan isn't keeping to his words, but seriously, earning a few tens of thousand euros a week is so bad for Yaya? The season has just ended, we even let Yaya take the fucking Big Ears to bloody Cote D'Ivoire to show off to Kolo and fam.

And now the agent's saying we're ungrateful for not showering Yaya who is what, 26(?) with money? Now all of a sudden Yaya's "dream of playing in a big club with Kolo" is irrelevant to him due to Arsenal's inability to pay him?

Sure, Joan's being a prick by not honoring the deal, but this agent has got to go. VV did it with his agent and got a new extension, maybe Yaya should too.

Maybe Pep should be all our players' agent. Settled.

umessi10 said...

Yaya Toure >> Mascherano.
Pay the man his money for gods sakes!!

James said...

Why is Joan being a prick? Did they have an agreement on the contract amount? I don't think so. He agreed that he would renew Yaya and give him a raise. Yaya's agent doesn't think that raise is enough, yet.

Please let's not bring race into this. Eto'o & Henry make more than Xavi and Iniesta because they are glamor strikers and stars first.

What's Yaya worth? I certainly don't think he deserves a contract as big as Iniesta or Xavi's. They've been at the club forever, Yaya's been good for 2 years. He deserves a big raise but I don't understand this 'pay him whatever he wants' mentality.

Fabiano said...

Folks, this is just politics. Don't care too much about these statements.

Remember: the agent gets a part of the money. Laporta and Txiki know these tricks. Let them handle it.

barcan said...

James I totally agree with you.

Visca el Barca!

jordy said...

that seluk guy is a nut. Yes yaya deserves a (big)pay rise. but I'm interested what Seluk is asking.probably the same salaray as xavi or iniesta..
He says 2 million a year is peanuts? This agent will ruin yaya's career if he keeps going like this. If you think like him every player would go to LA galaxy and earn what beckham does..

AJ said...

Well, a promise is a promise. That's why he's a prick for not honoring his deal with Seluk. If there was no "gentleman's agreement" in the first place this Seluk guy should go or change. And if Yaya objects, both of em out.

Seluk has been a thorn in my ass for the past 8 months. Send him back Yaya.

And anyone implying Joan's a racist obviously doesn't know of his famous "signing" huh?

Scano814 said...

yeah the racism comment was pretty ridiculous considering how much eto'o and hnery are paid

his agent does make a very convincing argument but I have the feeling guardiola does not see him as irreplaceable and I dont understand why because Yaya does everything a DMF should do and way more considering his distribution, skill and occassional eye for goal. I think Yaya is the best DM the world has seen since Vieira was in his prime (long long time ago). Look at others I consider players like gattuso and masch as too 1 dimensional. yaya needs to stay.

James said...

Remember how everyone said we needed midfield cover? The Mascherano link could push Yaya into signing a better deal for the club. Then even if Mascherano comes Yaya come push up and be the cover for Xavi & Iniesta along with Keita. A lot of people here were convinced Yaya could play a more forward midfield role as well. Didn't he play AM in Ukraine? Unlikely, but just a thought.

R10FCB said...

give the guy his pay rise!! poor toure is probably sitting there wondering why the hell players like gudjohnsen and hleb are getting paid more then him for sitting on the bench while he is out there on the field playing positions hes not comfortable with and getting next to nothing.
he has been a key role for our treble this season, remember the goal in the final of the copa del rey? playing in defence for the semi and final on the CL? this is the kind of stuff barca should think of first and then they would realise that he should of been given a pay rise a long time ago.

Ramzi said...

Yaya is a great player (not the best DM in the world by the way). He deserves a better contract, but of course it will be at most a 4 M plus incentives. that's the Max he can expect.

Yet,Yaya really need to either ask this agent to have some decency or to find himself another agent.

Being pushy is normal, its a part of his job, but talking about other players in the team must not be allowed. Last time he said something like "If Yaya left, who will play? Hleb?" and now he is talking about Keita, and even some other really irreplaceable players. They are Yaya teammates, and yaya had to react the first time so the agent does not repeat that.

The club will do what suits us the best at the right time. Yaya (even though deserve better contract) but at the end of the day he has a contract he agreed on. As long as Barcelona are applying all the conditions at the contract then its up to them to dictate when to change that contract. I think it will be in July.

kamikaze kontiki said...

I say this for the nth time. Yaya has to get rid of his agent. The guy is a moron.

But give the man his raise. at least give him how much Hleb is getting. I am sure even Busquets is currently earining more than Yaya.

Scano814 said...

ramzi agreed...

just wondering who you think is the best dm in the world at the moment? essien, de rossi, carrick, somebody I am missing?

perhaps i should have said that yaya is one of the most well rouded dmf around right now

Anonymous said...

carrick sucks compared to yaya. Only yaya, masch, essien and cambiasso are world class DMs. But yaya can play CM and AM as well.

James said...

I'm pretty sure Busquets is not earning more than Yaya. If I remember correctly his agent wanted 1 million a year and Barca wanted to offer 500k + 500k performance incentives. Yaya's an established player, even if his contract was low you don't pay 9 million to buy a guy and offer him less than 1 million per year.

Scano I know you didn't ask me but I think Essien or De Rossi are both better.

James said...

PS: The 1 million figure I mentioned was in reference to Busquets' contract.

Jordiz said...

Yaya has gone from club to club alot in his carreer, and I always wondered why as it doesn't seem to be Yaya's attitude. After hearing his agent it seems more obvious that the agent is overly excessive with demands and pretty much pushes Toure to the exit door of his club every couple of years so he (the agent) can get more $$$$.

i forgot my name said...

OMGG! PLEASE HELP!

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/06/09/1314427/real-madrid-agree-fee-with-valencia-for-david-villa-report

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/06/09/1314410/under-appreciated-yaya-toure-could-leave-barcelona-agent

Julian said...

Yaya clearly deserves a raise, but his agent is clearly a complete nutter. He's always attacking the club (remember how angry he got when Keita was signed) and also Yaya's team-mates (his latest outburst).

Poor Yaya, had to go to Metalurg Donetsk to battle his way into European football and, as a result, seems destined to having this freak ruining his reputation (by making him look selfish and money hungry) for the rest of his career.

Can we transfer the agent and keep the player by any chance? ;-)

James said...

i forgot my name you're citing the exact same article as this one you're commenting on. just because goal.com used a different headline doesn't mean the situation has changed.

tero said...

If someone deserves a pay rise,it's Toure.He is in my opinion the best DM in the world,nobody even remembers De Rossi

Anonymous said...

Yo Ramzi =)
I dont agree with you friend, on the part where you said, Barca are doing whats best for us, when it comes to the Yaya deal.

As far as i know, Yaya would and should have had a pay rise last year since his good first year.
But all the bad that was n the club
and other issues this never got down to it.

Hearing and it seems true, that Laporta wont keep his promise
and that Barca are payin what a player as lojal and as good and honest as Yaya has been cannot be good, for the imagine and remember barca are a good exemple to follow is our Motto ..

wont be long before someone steps up and start callin Laporta this or that. We should also be a humble to those players that deserv

hurts to know Hleb gets paid more then Yaya ....

cause Yaya came with faith to barca
Knowing he was good enough to make it, but not the big name enough to get high salalry, so we said: I*LL PROOF MY WORTH --well he sure did

so what will happen with the next player we wanna sign with the same conditions: what will he's agent think?

TengkuAmir10 said...

man.....ive been following this blog since last year n i must say dat it is very nice to read.....many thnx to pep....n could barca just be more smart n buy villa n silva or benzema which r FOR SALE???n keep yaya by extending his contract??

why r they pushing for zlatan who is 27....i know his capabilities n height but he is just too expensive...

n im scared of madrid now since they r like buying everyone!!!kaka has ended up there.....i bet cr will....villa,silva,raulalbiol may have a chance(A BIG CHANCE)bcoz valencia's debt is now 472M€.....so,,,barca should start being smart now n buy some good strikers dat are for sale like real madrid......i hope real bcome unstable n end up in a trophyless season again!!!insyaalah......n i am not arabic or israeli....i hope barca gets all 6 next season....

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