Manchester City's Yaya Toure insists he would never follow the money and move to China

The Ivorian midfielder, whose contract expires in the summer, claims he is only interested in playing for the love of the game and not money

Yaya Toure rejected a £430,000-a-week offer from China earlier this month (Getty)

Yaya Toure has categorically dismissed any suggestion that he would end his career in China, insisting that to do so would be mercenary and leave him feeling “angry.”

Toure has rejected a £430,000-a-week offer from the Chinese Super League in favour of staying at Manchester City, where he has not given up hope of securing a new contract after his current one expires this summer, and he has said he could only play for the love of the game – not money.

“I always say that if I went to China I would end up feeling angry there,” the 33-year-old said. “Do you play football because you love football - or do you play because you want to make money? What's the purpose? Me, I just want to play football because I enjoy it, I love playing. I enjoy helping my team-mates, I enjoy playing against the big players and teams.

"I want to carry on in that way. Some people have the mentality that they want to do that - to try something different. But for me, my feeling is that I want to play more football.”

Toure’s latest offer from China came 12 months after a £520,000-a-week package from Jiangsu Suning 12 months ago, which would have earned the Ivorian £22.5million-a-year from an unnamed club.

But Toure said that he wants to end his career in England and believes he has two more years’ football left in him at Premier League level. “Look at my friend [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic,” he said. “He's 35 and he's going to play for maybe....three more years? He's got the same mentality as me. He's a big player, a champion who loves football. It's football first. Anything after that is a bonus. You can be lucky to go and play for big clubs and still earn a lot of money. But those who go to China....I don't think like that."

Staying at City, where his performance in the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur underlined his renaissance at the end of his dispute with manager Pep Guardiola, would be perfect for him, he said.

"I've said before that I've been involved with a lot of clubs. But especially at City, I want to give something back to the fans. I'd like to continue to work hard for them, keep giving them entertainment, keep them happy - that's what I want. In the end, I know myself. If I was tired, I'd say 'no more, move on'. But I don't feel like that, I feel very, very good. I feel young."

Carlos Tevez is thought to have become football’s highest paid player by moving to China, with the striker reportedly earning around £615,000 per week on a two-year contract with Shanghai Shenhua

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is among the managers who have questioned the motive of players who move to China. “At this moment it is not a league where you actually want to play and the only way to bring players there is the money,” he said recently. “If players decide to go there you no weapons to hold them here. In nearly all the big European leagues you can earn a lot of money and it should be enough in the end - especially for top players.”