Toure
Kolo Toure and his broher Yaya played together in Manchester City and in Ivory Coast. [Reuters]

Liverpool defender Kolo Toure has indentified Pep Guardiola as the main reason why his brother Yaya Toure left Barcelona and signed for Manchester City three seasons ago.

Toure spent three seasons in Barcelona winning two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and one Champions League. He was a key player for the Catalonian team under manager Frank Rijkaard but when Guardiola was appointed as first-team manager he often overlooked in favour of Sergio Busquets.

"Managers come to clubs bringing players with them and they want to pick them at all costs - whether they are any good or not," the Reds defender told The Sun.

"Yaya was much better than Sergio Busquets at Barcelona. But he was behind him in the pecking order and he found that hard to accept."

The former Barcelona midfielder decided to quit Spain and Manchester City paid around £25m to secure his services.

"I advised him to come to Manchester City while I was still there. He listened to his big brother's advice - and now he is the big boss on the field for them," revealed the Liverpool centre-back.

The current Liverpool defender explained that he lived a similar situation last summer, when was released by City at the end of his four-year contract.

"I was better than certain players at Manchester City but I was left on the bench," he said.

Last season, the centre-back only made 10 Premier League starts for City under Roberto Mancini. However, he thinks his former side are now lamenting his exit.

"Before I left the club, I told the people in charge that they would regret letting me go. People said I was finished and that I could never get back to my former level."

"But now I am at Liverpool - and I am sure that City must be kicking themselves when they see how I am performing," the Ivory Coast international added.