Yaya Toure would love to be a mentor alongside Paul Pogba but believes Manchester City fans would not accept him joining Manchester United.

Ivorian Toure is searching for a new club having ended his eight-year spell with City and wants to continue playing at a high level.

The 35-year-old is a big admirer of United midfielder Pogba, who has faced regular criticism for inconsistent performances since his £89million move to Old Trafford from Juventus in 2016.

And Toure believes he would be an ideal ally for the France international.

“I love Paul Pogba,” Toure told the Manchester Evening News. “Pogba – it’s difficult because of the way the media has treated him. We don’t have the same characteristics because for me I was involved in all the ball, I ran everywhere.”

He said he sees some similarities in their playing styles though, and added: “It is a player I want to play with, to be honest, just to teach him some things.”

Although he would like to be a team-mate to Pogba, Toure, who made more than 300 appearances for City, would be reluctant to move across Manchester.

Asked if he would consider the switch, Toure said: “No, no, no, no. The fans are going to kill me!”

He is eyeing a club with the potential to win silverware, wants two more years in the game, and appears likely to stay in the Premier League.

Toure added: “It’s going to be hard one day to play against City, but I have to do that. It is part of my job.”

“To see myself at a different club is going to be difficult. I have been such a big part of City for such a long time now. I just want to say that definitely I will continue to play at a high level – Champions League or Europa League.”

While Toure seems unlikely to join Jose Mourinho’s men, United captain-turned-coach Michael Carrick has dismissed suggestions Pogba’s future lies away from Old Trafford.

Questions over Pogba’s relationship with manager Mourinho have also been raised this term, with the midfielder’s non-committal answers in a recent
interview fuelling talk about him.

However, Carrick – captain at United last season and coach next term – gave short shrift to the suggestion Pogba could be on the move.

“It’s a bit of a silly question, really, I think,” he told Sky Sports. “Of course he has got a future.

“He’s a big player for us, he’s a great age, he’s got his peak years ahead of him.

“It’s not even something I’d give a second thought to, to be honest.”