Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré has disclosed that he was on the verge of signing for Arsenal in 2003, only for a paperwork complication to derail the move.
Touré, who later became a Premier League legend with City, was keen to link up with his older brother Kolo, who had successfully signed a contract with Arsenal a year earlier.
Manager Arsène Wenger had been impressed by the Ivorian midfielder during a six-month trial and was open to signing him.
However, the deal fell through due to Touré’s lack of a European passport, which was a requirement for playing in England at the time.
Instead of joining the Gunners, Touré moved to Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk, beginning a career path that would later take him to Olympiacos, Monaco, and eventually Barcelona.
Reflecting on the missed opportunity, he admitted that he had been excited about the prospect of playing alongside Arsenal’s midfield greats, particularly Patrick Vieira.
Speaking to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, Touré explained the difficulties he faced.
“You have to play 75% in the national team if you don’t have the passport, European passport, or you have to have a European passport to play in England and that was the path,” he said.
“Arsene was willing to let me go back to Belgium to carry on for, I think, one more year or two years to get the Belgian passport because at that time, I was not playing in the national team, A team.”
Touré expressed his disappointment at how the situation unfolded. He eventually accepted a move to Ukraine but admitted that he felt frustrated by what he considered a missed opportunity.
“I started to get a bit frustrated because for me, it was a bit of a fail because I didn’t make it, but in the end, it was that difficult because my mind was divided. I didn’t want to get a passport. To get it, I wanted to be able as well to play for my national team.”
Despite the early setback, Touré went on to achieve great success, winning domestic and international titles with Barcelona before cementing his status as a Premier League icon with Manchester City.
