Champions League: Yaya Toure says Guardiola now free from 'African curse'
City have never won a Champions League title and it's no secret that the trophy is deeply desired by both Guardiola and his side
The agent of Yaya Toure Dimitri Seluk has said the curse he once called to be placed on Pep Guardiola by 'African shamans' to stop the manager from winning the Champions League has been lifted.
The brouhaha stemmed from Toure's relationship with Guardiola deteriorating during the Ivorian's final season at the club, which saw him make just one Premier League start during Manchester City's 2017/18 campaign.
At the time, Toure said to France Football that the Catalan manager did 'everything to spoil [his] last season' and queried Guardiola's approach to selecting African players.
'The day he picks a team with five Africans in it, I promise I will send him a cake', the player said in an apparent reference to Toure's 2014 'birthday cake snub', which saw the City legend's birthday allegedly go without recognition from his club.
In the wake of the comments Seluk said that an 'African curse' would stem from Toure's dissatisfaction with his coach, stymying any future chance of glory in Europe.
But as per the Mirror, Seluk apologised and said that both he and Toure wish 'nothing but success for City'.
'I want to apologise for this matter,' the Ukrainian agent said. 'I think it is time for this bitterness to stop – and I know that Yaya feels the same because he wishes nothing but success for City.
'I can say that the spell has now been lifted by the shamans – and that I think City will win the Champions League under Pep.
'They have a good chance of winning it this year. But whatever happens they will definitely win it in the next three years.'
However, Toure was quick to distance himself from the comments - which he called 'lazy and nonsense' - stressing that the stereotype was 'harmful'.
'My former agent is being quoted by the media about a "curse",' he wrote on Twitter. 'Please don’t associate me with this nonsense and lazy stereotypes about African curses!?
City have never won a Champions League title and it's no secret that the trophy is deeply desired by both Guardiola and his side.
In 2021, the Cityzens reached the final but lost 1-0 to Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea after a goal from Kai Havertz proved the difference for the west London outfit.
The Manchester side will be cheered to hear that the 'curse' has been lifted ahead of the first leg of the semi-final tie against Real Madrid after being knocked out of the competition at the same stage by the same opponents last season.
