YAYA TOURE VOTED 2013 BBC AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR

YAYA TOURE

The Ivory Coast and English Premier side Manchester City’s midfielder, Yaya Toure has been voted as the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2013 for the first time in his career and after

This is the first time he has won the best player award after being nominated for the award for the last five years. He beat off competition from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Victor Moses, John Mikel Obi and Jonathan Pitroipa to land the title that also included the public’s vote. 

This five-man shortlist was drawn up by 44 African football journalists in November and was voted on online by football fans from all over the globe.

Afterwards Toure said: “This award is very special because it's not a president of a federation who votes, or a trainer but the fans who have voted for me. To join such a great list of names to have won the award in the past, it's an incredible feeling.

"When I first signed at City at my first press conference, I said I came here to achieve a lot of things and this is part of that. Personal and collective achievements. "To be around such great players, like David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Samir, Fernandinho now and Gareth Barry in the past, to play with them is unbelievable - they make my job easier.

"Football is all my life, when I hear fans singing my name, I never want to stop. What the club and the fans have given me here is unbelievable - it's massive." The 30-year-old Yaya, led his country to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, appearing in both legs of the Ivory Coast’s 4-2 aggregate win over Senegal in the play-offs. He is also enjoying a 2013/14 campaign to remember with City having scored seven times in his 19 appearances for them in all competitions so far this season. 

Since joining City in 2010, Yaya has added the Community Shield, an FA Cup and the Barclays Premier League title to his collection of medals, which also includes the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup and the UEFA Super Cup from his time at FC Barcelona.

This latest individual award for the midfielder is not to be confused with the African Footballer of the Year prize conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that Yaya has won for the past two years.

He was also named as the only African on the 23-man shortlist for this year’s FIFA World Player of the Year.