Man City are NOT planning to sell Toure, insists Pellegrini

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has rubbished claims the club are ready to offload Yaya Toure.

Toure, so influential in last season’s title-winning campaign, has struggled to hit top form this season and was sent off during the midweek Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow.

There have been widepsread reports that City are now preparing to cash in on the Ivorian, with Paris Saint-Germain mooted as a possible destination for the 31-year-old.

But Pellegrini has moved quickly to quash the speculation over Toure’s future, insisting the powerful midfielder is staying put at the Etihad Stadium.

"There must be a lot of reports telling (the story) that Yaya will be sold. Maybe (it is) all the other teams that want Manchester City to be a weaker team," said the Chilean.

"Yaya is a very important player. He played very well in the first half (against CSKA) - he scored a goal. In the second half he made a mistake and he was sent off but - never in my mind - I am sure nobody at the club is talking about selling Yaya Toure. Maybe that news comes from other teams (who want) to see our team weaker."