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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2016 20 Sport SPORTTODAY OLYMPICS Yaya Toure's agent lashes out at 'vindictive' Pep Guardiola IVORY Coast midfielder Yaya Toure will not play for Manches- ter City again until the Premier League club receive an apology for comments made by his agent, manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday. "He must apologise. If he doesn't, he won't play," Guardio- la told reporters. The 33-year-old player's agent Dimitri Seluk, who had said Toure felt "humiliated" after be- ing left out of City's Champions League squad, hit back in simi- larly uncompromising fashion. "What do I need to apologise for?," he asked Sky Sports tel- evision. "Guardiola wins a few games and thinks he is a king. I live in Europe so I can say what- ever I like and Guardiola can't stop me. "I will apologise to Guardiola if he will apologise to (former City manager) Manuel Pellegrini for what he did to him." Toure, four-times African Footballer of the Year, has been a mainstay of City's midfield since joining from Guardiola's Barce- lona in 2010. He has only played once this season, in the second leg of a Champions League playoff tie against Steaua Bucharest when City had a 5-0 lead from the first game. "It was difficult to leave him out of the Champions League squad but (the) day after, his (agent) went to the media. (Toure) has not had the courage to call me. From that moment he was out," Guardiola said. The pair also clashed at Barce- lona, with the player later telling a Spanish radio station that he felt forced out. "He pretty much ignored me until City's offer came in. That's why I eventually opted to leave. I didn't speak to Guardiola for a year," Toure said in 2011. "I did not want to go and want- ed to end my career at Barcelona. However, he had no faith in me." Guardiola said then that he had tried to convince the Ivorian to stay. Toure, who had been tipped to leave after Guardiola joined from Bayern Munich in the close season, announced earlier on Tuesday his retirement from in- ternational football. "Writing this note was prob- ably 'the most difficult match of my life'," he said, adding that the decision was not to do with his age, intensity of training or number of games. "Football is everything to me. It gave me so many things in my career that now I don't feel able to set new goals, as a player with the Elephants," he said. Toure scored 19 goals in more than 100 appearances for Ivory Coast and captained his coun- try to their first African Nations Cup win for 23 years in 2015. Manchester City, who have a 100 percent record in the league after five games, play Swansea City in the third round of the League Cup tonight. Yaya Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk has hit back at Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City manager threatened to end Toure's career Yaya Toure Luis Enrique and Simeone unite to defend 'spectacular' Neymar BARCELONA coach Luis Enrique and Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone have launched impassioned defences of Neymar after the Brazilian's showboating again came under the spotlight. Former Barcelona great Michael Laudrup lambasted the Brazil in- ternational for "provoking" the opposition in Saturday's 5-1 win at Leganes and Neymar's flamboy- ant style will be scrutinised again on Wednesday when Barcelona host Atletico. Commentating on Saturday's game at Leganes for BeIN sports, Laudrup said he understood why Lluis Sastre kicked out at Neymar during the game. "Why are you taking the ball across your own half? You're pro- voking the opposition. When it's 4-0 you can't be showboating and provoking your opponents," La- udrup said. Neymar's penchant for trying to embarrass opponents with flicks and tricks has prompted criticism in Spain before, with Luis Enrique once declaring he sympathised with Athletic Bilbao players for fouling Neymar in the 2015 King's Cup final. The coach, however, took his player's side when questioned about Laudrup's comments. "He has his own style and I think it's spectacular for football. We enjoy his play a lot at Barca," Luis Enrique told a news conference on Tuesday. "We know what world we live in and what people focus on, but I like his concept of football, and no-one in La Liga can be sur- prised by it now. "Perhaps it's better to criticise things that are against the rules, as there is nothing saying you cannot do spectacular tricks." Atletico coach Simeone also de- fended Neymar when asked if he would be bothered if Neymar at- tempted similar tricks against his side on Wednesday. "He has a particular style of play, like everyone else, but I love it," Simeone said on Tuesday. "He has been criticised and they have exposed his private life. He has fun, he sings he dances and he destroys opponents. They can keep criticising him. He needs to respond on the pitch." Simeone added: "He's extraor- dinary. He went to the Olympics and won gold, he has found his place at Barcelona to showcase his talent, he has just come back from holidays and he's still playing just as well. "He has a personality that al- lows him to do all that, and I love watching him." Barcelona's Neymar celebrates a goal.