Why we were wrong about Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure’s birthday cake fiasco gave us yet another moment to laugh at the priorities of professional athletes.

Toure, upset with Manchester City’s handling of his birthday, called on his agent to make his displeasure public. At least that’s the way things played out when Dimitry Seluk engaged in a rambling, mostly incoherent interview with Sky Sports, claiming players like Roberto Carlos had received Bugattis on their special day in the past. All Yaya got was a lousy tweet and a cake during the team’s flight to Dubai.

Video of the cake presentation emerged, with flight attendants and Yaya’s teammates awkwardly singing “Happy Birthday” as City’s despondent star stared straight ahead with his headphones on.

The backlash was expected. Another selfish footballer is more concerned about himself and his wages, than the team. The incident exemplified why African football had yet to breakthrough at the World Cup, according to at least one columnist.

To be fair, the majority took the cynical route, believing this was a ploy by Yaya and his agent looking to cash in on an excellent season. Manchester City did win the Premier League title, and their Ivorian midfielder was a major reason why.

There was more to the story. Yaya’s brother, Ibrahim, was dealing with cancer at the time of Manchester City’s trip to Dubai. In an interview with France Football, Yaya said club officials did not allow him to stay in Manchester at the end of the season to be with his ailing sibling.

“I confess that I am still very sad. I’m suffering because I feel I have done nothing useful for him the last few weeks,” said the 31-year-old.

"At the end of the season, I wanted to stay for four or five days with my brother before I flew to prepare for the World Cup with Ivory Coast, except that City did not want to give me a few days. I went to celebrate the title championship in Abu Dhabi while my brother was in his sickbed.”

This wasn’t about a birthday cake, or feeling slighted by a club that had millions to spend on trinkets like fancy cars and villas in Monaco.

“Club officials knew that I had been suffering for a few months seeing the health of my brother decline. This is the reason I had several injuries at the end of the season, because my head had taken control of my body. These last four months have probably been the hardest in my life,” he said.

Manchester City officials claim they never received a request for compassionate leave from Toure, according to ESPN.  

As Ibrahim’s condition worsened, Yaya and his other brother Kolo had a decision to make. Stay with Cote D’Ivoire in Brazil, or travel back to England to be with their brother. At their father’s insistence, they decided to stay. Ibrahim passed away last week.

The Yaya Toure we saw in Brazil was a shadow of the player that swashbuckled through the Premier League with disconcerting ease.

He looked pained, in both mind and body. A long season caught up to him, and the toll of his brother’s illness on him and his family made bruises feel like broken bones.

"I wonder how I'll cope without him. I know that I will no longer be able to hear him, sense him, see him, this feels awful, especially when you’re thousands of kilometres away," he said.

We were wrong about Yaya Toure. I was wrong, to be blunt. What started out as cheap laugh devolved into the sort of self retrospection I’m stubbornly hesitant to do.

Cheap laughs, at the expense of others, provide us with respite from the daily grind. “Star player upset he didn’t get a Bugatti on his birthday” is something to be parodied. Dig a little deeper, though, and things aren’t as funny as they seem.

Les Elephants are out of the World Cup, falling to Greece in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday night. Cote D’Ivoire’s golden generation will not make history.

That’s a topic for another day. At least now, Yaya and his family can grieve on their own terms.