The Ivory Coast midfielder says he enjoys a bond with the Chilean that he has never experienced with another manager, and that the club’s players vowed to bounce back this season

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has suggested manager Manuel Pellegrini is the only thing keeping him at the Etihad Stadium.

Toure had appeared close to leaving the club on a couple of occasions in recent years, including last May when his agent, Dimitry Seluk, claimed the City hierarchy “don’t really care” about the midfielder over their failure to acknowledge his birthday.

He had also been linked with a move to Roberto Mancini’s Inter in the closing months of last season.

But Toure, whose brother Ibrahim died last year, says Pellegrini has been a father figure in tough times and was a key factor behind his decision to stay with the Blues.

“I’ve stayed because of Manuel,” he said in a book called Pellegrini’s Methods. “He always talks to me, giving me some piece of advice. He has been aware of my life off the pitch.

“He has been like a father to me in difficult moments. I have never felt like that with another coach.”

Toure also added that he and his team-mates vowed to bounce back from a trophyless 2014-15 campaign: “Before this season, all the players had a talk and we promised the boss we would recover our level.

“We had to do it for him, for us and for the fans — we have to win important things this season.”