If Toure wandered into the dressing room of Wasps or Harlequins and pulled on the shirt, he would not look out of place. A giant of a man in every sense, it is probably just as well he has those very broad shoulders. Because, until he appeared at Wembley and scored the goal that sent Manchester City to the FA Cup final for the first time in 30 years, every article on him had contained confirmation he was the highest-paid player in England, collecting £210,000-a-week if the more extreme reports are to be believed. Such eye-boggling figures are all relative. Last summer, City needed improvement and they needed legitimacy. Where better to get that from than Barcelona. Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi were never going to decamp to Eastlands, so Toure, once coveted by Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson, was the next best option. In some senses, he is not a typical Premier League player. Toure does not use his size to shove people around very often, he rarely crashes into tackles and it takes him a few of those long strides to generate any kind of pace. But he can play. And he can shoot. And, when he seized on Michael Carrick's stray pass, rounded Nemanja Vidic and found the Manchester United net with an effort of decent pace and deadly accuracy, he earned a special place in City's history. "This year the club needs some history and we signed for City to make this real," Toure said. "We want to be part of history at this club." One senses this statement has been used a lot by manager Roberto Mancini over the past few months. Mancini's own long career at Sampdoria bears testament to his own belief that footballing satisfaction can be achieved by dragging a smaller club onto the same level as their much larger counterparts. In City's case, that has come through the colossal wealth of owner Sheikh Mansour. Yet Toure, like the rest of his team-mates, must have bought into the City dream to some extent. After all, they have had to take on trust promises that the Blues will compete for the major trophies because, as yet, there are no league titles, or even a Champions League place, to show off as proof. In that sense, Toure's input has been invaluable. As City approach their FA Cup final with Stoke, and the chance to end that long 35-year wait for a trophy, Toure is able to look further ahead, to the day when the Eastlands outfit will be able to stand toe-to-toe with the men from the Nou Camp. "At the moment you cannot compare Barcelona with City because Barca are at the top and have top-quality players," he said. "Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, they are fantastic. "But, who knows, in a couple of years we could maybe be better than Barcelona. That is where the history comes in. We know the final is only one game and anything can happen. "But, if we play to 100% and then we have a bit of luck, we can win the game."
