Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he and Yaya Toure have made up their differences as the player marked his return against Crystal Palace on Saturday with a match-winning display.
The 33-year-old midfielder has been frozen out thus far in Guardiola's first season in charge at the Etihad, making just one appearance in a Champions League qualifier at the start of the campaign.
The disagreements can be attributed to Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk who had been vocally critical of Guardiola.
"If City don’t win the Champions League then I hope that Pep has got the balls to say that he was wrong to humiliate a great player like Yaya," he said in September for example.
Well aware of Seluk's comments, Guardiola had stated that he would not field Toure in his team again unless he received an apology.
"He must apologise. If he doesn't, he won't play," said the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager.
In October, he reemphasised that point, saying: "You know the situation. I would like to come with Yaya, believe me, I would like, but you know the situation."
Earlier in November, Toure apologised, also posting a message on his official Facebook page:
With Guardiola welcoming that apology, Toure was back in the side against Crystal Palace in his first Premier League appearance of the season.
He did not disappoint his manager with a pair of goals in the 2-1 win away from home.
And speaking after the match, Guardiola said that he and Toure had settled their differences and that the player has a role to play.
"The last month, month and a half, his training sessions, his physical condition, his weight now is perfect. [When] he arrived, he wasn't like this. Now he's like a young guy and of course you have a new player now to help us to achieve our targets. So I'm happy for him and for his family," he said.
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