Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini has revealed that Yaya Toure came close to joining the Serie A club from Manchester City this summer before changing his mind on the move.
Mancini signed the Ivorian for City from Barcelona in a £24m deal in 2010 and saw him score 28 goals in 135 games in the Italian's final three seasons at the Etihad, as the midfielder became a key part of the side which won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League title in 2012.
The Inter boss revealed that Toure was keen on an Italian reunion before the player changed his mind, and admitted that the 32-year-old would have made a huge difference to his side.
"[Toure] wanted to come here, then changed his mind," Mancini told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Yaya Toure would have totally changed the team.
"He is a player of a superior level. With him we would have made an enormous step forward in every aspect."
Toure scored on the opening day of the season at West Bromwich Albion and will make his fifth start of the season when City travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Tom Nightingale
