Former Manchester City star Yaya Toure has revealed that he could have quite easily jumped at the chance of heading to the Far East before retiring from the beautiful game. The Ivory Coast international had been on the search for a new club after being released from the Citizens last summer and a careful perusal; he decided to re-join Olympiakos with whom he spent one season between 2005 and 2006.

In an interview covered by Tovima, Toure revealed that he could have taken the easy route to head to Japan or China for the final stages of his career but he wanted to test himself with a better challenge. He added that he would like to retire with Olympiakos for whom he has signed until the end of the current season.

He said: “My every decision is determined by my passion for football. Although I have played in many big championships, I wanted to end my career here. I always wanted to win titles. I could have chosen to end my career in Japan or China, but that would not have been enough for me. I want to fulfil my passion.”

Meanwhile, “when asked about the shrewd relationship with former manager Pep Guardiola, “ Toure refused to speak about the Spaniard and suggested that he would rather focus on the qualities of current Olympiakos boss Pedro Martins, he added: “Don’t ask me to speak about him. I have nothing more to say. It is a thing of the past. Today, with Olympiacos, I have an exceptional coach. That is what counts. https://www.paniliakosfc.com/hachimmastour-makes-move-ac-milan-greek-foo..., because he is calm and explains to the team what he wants.”

Olympiakos saw their dominance in the Greek SuperLeague end last year after AEK Athens won the title with a 13-point advantage over them. In the current campaign, Olympiakos are trailing PAOK Salonika by a three-point margin after six games into the season.