In his peak, Yaya Toure was one of the most dominant midfielders the Premier League had ever seen. Standing at 6’2″ and endowed with power, speed, and excellent control, the Ivorian was unstoppable on his day, and his 20-goal performance during the 2013/14 Premier League season continues to live in English football folklore.
During his time at Manchester City, Toure won everything there was to win domestically and made short work of some of the best clubs and players around. However, the former Barcelona great previously said that an unexpected name was the one who gave him the most trouble on the pitch, going as far as to say he despised coming up against him.
Toure Named Nemanja Matic as Toughest Opponent
The Serbian starred for Chelsea and Manchester United
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2018, Toure stated that former Chelsea and Manchester United defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic was the most difficult opponent he faced throughout his tenure in English football. Speaking of Serbian, the 41-year-old claimed:
“I despise him, this b******!” He’s an extremely difficult player to play against. Tall and strong. It’s been fun to play against him, despite the difficulty. He’s powerful and tall. To be able to find an opponent to play against me and stop me… there aren’t many of them, but Matic was one of the closest ones who could cause me difficulties.”
The Ivory Coast icon would go on to explain why Matic was such a difficult player to play against, telling the Times: “Nemanja Matic was tricky. He’s not quick, but he’s strong and clever. All of the other opponents, because I always looked at them closely before games, I knew their weaknesses.
Matic made his debut in England in 2009, when he joined Chelsea. After several loan spells, he was eventually sold to Benfica after failing to break into Chelsea’s first-team squad. Two and a half years later, he returned to West London and became a key member of the Chelsea squad until 2017, when he joined Manchester United.
Matic was always a reliable option for Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he would eventually join Roma in 2022 to reunite with Mourinho. After a brief stay with Stade Rennais, the 36-year-old is still in France with Ligue 1 club Lyon.
Nemanja Matic’s Premier League Statistics
Games
251
Goals
6
Assists
24
Yellow/Red cards
41/3
League Titles
3
