Yaya Toure will stay at Manchester City next season after the club's owner made a personal plea to the midfielder.

Toure was widely expected to end his five-year stint at Eastlands this summer after a disappointing campaign, but his agent, Dimitri Seluk, has confirmed that he will still be there next year.

He told The Mirror: "Yaya is staying because Sheikh Mansour told him he must stay. Mansour told Yaya that he is still a very important player and that he was the first big player to join City after the takeover.

"He told him that City wouldn't even discuss a sale. This is good. People have tried to say that Yaya only wanted more money, but it was never about money. It was only about respect."

Mansour has largely remained since taking over the club in 2008, and has attended only a handful of matches.

Toure has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan.