CNN World Sport anchor, Pedro Pinto: Yaya, it would be fair to say you`re the man of the moment right now. Big game, big goals – what do they mean to you?
Kaya Toure: It is very important because when City wanted to sign me to this club from Barcelona to come here they were thinking about bringing a good player to try to add to the club and make history in four years. I think this is very interesting for me very interesting, of course, for the club because I think they`ve made the right choice.
Pedro Pinto: And considering how close you are to the title now can you guys smell it already?
Yaya Toure: I think for me not yet because the Premier League is so difficult you know. In a couple of days we have QPR at home and QPR they are fighting from relegation from the Premier League so it will be fairly tough, you know.
Pedro Pinto: I`ll be honest with you when you dropped, I think, eight points behind United I thought that`s it, you guys aren`t going to come back. How did you do it?
Yaya Toure: No, we always believe in ourselves you know because we`ve got quality players, fantastic players, you know. I think the key was when Mancini started making a speech in the dressing room, like he said, ‘guys we don`t have to give up, you know, because the Premier League is like that and maybe United can drop some points and we can come back. We have to believe to the end because we`re in the most competitive competition in the world and most importantly we have to keep going, keep winning and maybe we`ll be close to them`. I think Mancini was totally right because I think now he deserves everything he gets from now you know. He`s an unbelievable guy who always fights to help his players to get them in good form and I think everything he`s done now he`s done fantastically well.
Pedro Pinto: You`ve had some fantastic highs this season, the win at Manchester United huge, and you`ve had some lows as well and a lot was said about Carlos [Tevez] when he left, a lot about Mario [Balotelli] being in the headlines, how distracting was that?
Yaya Toure: It`s difficult sometimes you know, because when you have some important players, big quality players like that and they make something wrong sometimes it`s difficult because football is a game for all the group, you know. You live together, you see each other more than you see your family, and you have to be careful, you know, because when somebody, when one of your team mates is wrong it can affect the rest of the players. I think definitely most important is that we concentrated and never gave up and continue to believe in ourselves.
Pedro Pinto: Are you surprised that Carlos came back and then he had such a big effect on the title race, were you expecting that to happen back in the winter?
Yaya Toure: Of course he has scored goals, Carlos is a fantastic player who we always hoped would come back to help us because he is a really important player for us. Yeah he made a mistake but he`s apologised to everyone and he`s showed to the fans he`s there to fight, to help his friends, his team mates for the title.
Pedro Pinto: When you look at what it would mean for Manchester City and for you, first title since 1968 if you win it, would it be the biggest accomplishment, domestically anyway because I know you won the Champions League, for you, that you`ve been involved with?
Yaya Toure: Yeah I think so because it was the first objective I had when I came here because if you want to make history you have to win. Last year we did it when we won the FA Cup and this year with the signings we have I think we have to win something for this club. The fans were amazing this year, incredible, and they helped us a lot in difficult moments and good moments and now I think we`ve done everything for them.
Pedro Pinto: And how long before you think Manchester City can contend for the Champions League?
Yaya Toure: (Laughs) We`re doing fantastic and we have to go step-by-step, learn more because the Champions League is one of the toughest competitions in the world. You have to get the luck, you have to be strong, you have to be good too because you can`t forget you have a top team there, Barcelona and Madrid in front, even Chelsea, United, Bayern. It`s going to be tough but I think we`re on a good way to be a big team, like another team.
CNN WORLD SPORT
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