BBC African Footballer of the Year 2013: Profile - Yaya Toure

Widely recognised as one of the finest midfielders of his generation, Yaya Toure is an absolute powerhouse - a general on the pitch who commands respect form every quarter.

He joined his current club Manchester City in 2010 and helped them win the English Premier League in 2012 - their first league title for 44 years - as well as the FA Cup and the Community Shield.

Toure has already racked up 109 games for City and scored 23 goals, including a portfolio of sensational free-kicks, and he continues to be perhaps the most important player for the club.

He joined City from Barcelona, where he spent three years and amassed a fantastic collection of honours, including two Spanish league titles, a Champions League title, a Uefa Super Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup.

Toure has also won a league title in Greece with Olympiacos and a league title in his native Ivory Coast with ASEC Mimosas.

However, Toure has experienced much disappointment on the international stage, where a golden generation of Ivorians have failed to deliver the trophy that has been expected of them - being beaten in the 2012 final by Zambia was one of the greatest shocks in African football.

Now aged 30, Toure shows no sign of slowing down and has made an excellent start to the new season with City, having already hit seven goals in all competitions and produced consistently brilliant performances.

A two-time winner of the Confederation of African Football's player of the year award, Toure is also the only African on the 23-man shortlist for this year's Fifa world player of the year.