Toure: City denied me seeing dying brother

Yaya Toure claimed Manchester City refused his request for compassionate leave to visit his dying brother, Ibrahim, before the World Cup.

Toure, whose Ivory Coast side face Greece hoping for a first-ever place in the last 16 of the World Cup, caused a furore after City’s Premier League title win when he first denied and then confirmed his claims by his agent that he was unhappy at the club. But now Toure has lifted the lid on the reasons for the rift with officials.

“At the end of the season, I wanted to stay for four or five days with my brother before I flew to prepare for the World Cup with Côte d’Ivoire,” Toure revealed.