Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini has reunited with his old Manchester City player Yaya Toure as a member of his Saudi Arabia staff. ‘I always looked up to Roberto.’
Mancini abruptly resigned the Azzurri job in August and just two weeks later had signed a lucrative contract to become the manager of the Saudi Arabia national team.
So far, he has overseen one draw and three defeats, all of them friendly tests.
It was announced today that Saudi Arabia had added Yaya Toure to Mancini’s coaching staff.
Toure had already worked with Mancini at Manchester City in 2010, where they went on to win the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Following retirement four years ago, he had a few different roles, most recently as assistant manager to Carl Hoefkens at Standard Liege, but quit that role to reunite with Mancini.
“I have always looked up to Roberto – so to work with him and learn from him is a perfect fit,” wrote Toure on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“When Roberto asked if I would join him in Saudi Arabia for this important project, while it was difficult to step away from Standard Liege, I knew it was the right move for me.”
Saudi Arabia are expected to get the hosting rights for the 2034 World Cup.