Yaya Toure denies Mario Balotelli bust-up
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure on Thursday dismissed reports of dressing-room bust-ups with teammate Mario Balotelli.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure on Thursday dismissed reports of dressing-room bust-ups with teammate Mario Balotelli.
Reports alleged the pair clashed at half-time in City's 3-3 draw at home to Sunderland last weekend as well as during the defeat at Swansea.
But Toure said he views Balotelli as a "brother" and "loves" him.
"They said I fought with Mario at Swansea and against Sunderland," he said in an interview with the Daily Mail. "That shocked me. My lawyers called me about this and it was the first I knew about it.
"It's just not true. It didn't happen. I am a footballer, not a boxer. People don't know my relationship with Mario. He's not my friend, he's my brother and I love him. To say we had a fight is very sad. It upset me and I feel sorry for Mario. He suffers most from these things.
"At half-time against Sunderland it was very difficult. We are trying to win the league and are losing 2-1. It's not good. But everybody was quiet. We were just looking at each other, trying to find a way to turn the result.
"But I didn't even talk to Mario. The next day he sent me a text message saying, 'Apparently we had a fight'. I just want to stop people writing and thinking that."