The coach explained his decision to leave the Ivorian out of Manchester City’s Champions League match against Steaua Bucharest amid speculation he could be sold

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says he did not want Yaya Toure to have a wasted trip to Romania after leaving him out of the squad to face Steaua Bucharest.

Toure is among a number of big names staying in England for the first leg of the Champions league play-off tie, with Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Jason Denayer also left out of the travelling party.

The Ivorian’s absence, having already missed the first Premier League game of the season, has heightened speculation he could leave the club but Guardiola says he has been impressed by the way he has trained.

“He is training amazing but I was not sure he was going to play so I would prefer him to stay in Manchester,” said the manager, who also worked with Toure at Barcelona.

READ MORE  | Why Pep is right to ditch Hart

Guardiola was also reluctant to offer any hints on the future of Joe Hart, who did not feature against Sunderland amid links to Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

Guardiola added: “Since I have been Manchester City manager and we have been together, Joe has been perfect. He is a great professional on and off the pitch.

“It is not the moment to talk about players who are not in Manchester City and in another club. I won’t talk about transfers before such an important match in our season.”