Does anyone rival the birthday boy as the best midfield man to ever walk the continent?
It’s not often that a transfer move causes such a transformative effect for a player as when Yaya Toure, who celebrates his 38th birthday on Thursday, swapping Barcelona for Manchester City in 2010.
The Ivory Coast midfielder joined the nouveau riche Citizens just as they were aspiring to supplant city rivals Manchester United as the top dog in the Premier League, and he certainly wrote his own story, as did the club.
While some observers still give Pep Guardiola stick for opting for Sergio Busquets as his deepest midfielder and then jettisoning Yaya, it’s safe to say all parties were beneficiaries of the switch.