Yaya Toure is one of the greatest players in Manchester City’s history, there’s no doubt about that.
Toure had a tough start to life in England, admitting that he struggled to adapt to the Premier League at first, but, eventually, he became one of the most dominant forces in Premier League history.
Indeed, Toure was an incredibly complete player, and, in a lot of ways, he was underrated.
Speaking to Goal, Jamie Carragher has been comparing some of the Premier League’s past and present stars, and he was asked to make an interesting comparison regarding Yaya Toure.
Indeed, Carragher was asked to pick between a prime Yaya Toure and Rodri, and that is a difficult question to answer.
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Jamie Carragher picks Rodri over Yaya Toure
Carragher was asked to pick between Rodri and Yaya Toure.
The pundit took a moment to mull this one over, but, ultimately, he picked Rodri.
Rodri is the incumbent Ballon d’Or holder, so it’s easy to see why Carragher picked the £63m man here.
Interestingly, Toure is also a fan of Rodri, in fact, he picked Rodri over Declan Rice when asked about the Spaniard in recent times.
Yaya Toure compared to Rodri
Rodri and Yaya Toure are undoubtedly two of the best midfield players in Premier League history, and picking between these two players is not easy.
Toure had perhaps the best single season any City midfielder has ever had back in 2013/14 when he hit 20 goals on the way to a Premier League title.
Meanwhile, as this season has shown, Rodri is such a vitally important player for City, even if he doesn’t score or assist as much as Toure did.
| Yaya Toure | Rodri | |
| 316 | Games | 260 |
| 82 | Goals | 26 |
| 45 | Assists | 31 |
| 200 | Wins | 191 |
| 52 | Draws | 40 |
| 64 | Losses | 29 |
| 63% | Win percentage | 74% |
| 3 | League titles | 4 |
| 4 | Cup wins | 3 |
| 0 | Champions League wins | 1 |
The most telling stats there are the win percentages, City have been almost unbeatable in recent years with Rodri, and that’s why Pep Guardiola’s side have won so many trophies.
Carragher ultimately picked Rodri ahead of Toure, and given how important the Spaniard is to this recent City side – the best City team in history, it’s easy to understand why Carragher hold Rodri in such esteem.
