Yaya Toure, ex-Barcelona and Man City star, joins Chinese side Qingdao Huanghai

- Yaya Toure has sealed a deal with Chinese league side Qingdao Huanghai

- The 36-year-old has been without a club after leaving Greek side Olympiacos last December

- Toure won three Premier League titles with Man City before leaving them in 2018

Manchester City legend Yaya Toure has joined Chinese second tier side Qingdao Huanghai barely two months after his agent announced his retirement from football.

The 36-year-old ended his eight year reign with the Citizens in 2018 after winning three Premier League titles with them.

He scored 79 goals and 50 assists in all competitions for the EPL champions during his reign at the Etihad Stadium outfit.

The four time African best player will now start a new life in the Asian country as his career continues to wind down.

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Toure said on his website, officialyayatoure.com that: "Since the start of my football career, I have always loved challenges and now I have decided to take this new challenge and make history once again with Qingdao Huanghai Football Club.

"This is a very exciting young club with a lot of potential and we share the same philosophy – that is to play beautiful football. It will be my great honour to grow and succeed with this club.

He added that his arrival at the club will boost their performance and confidence, adding that he cannot wait to unleash his football magic for the club.

"I believe my experiences in football will offer something new to this growing club and together we can make great history. I can’t wait to let my football do the magic once again, let’s enjoy football together!"

After leaving Manchester City in 2018, he joined Greek side Olympiacos and featured just five times for them before walking away from the club.

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And following his failure to seal another club for the remainder of the 2018-19 season, Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk, claimed his client would be hanging up his boots in May.

"I say this for the first time: Yaya decided to end his career as a champion," he told Sport24 at the time.

“The farewell match, when he won the Premier League title with Manchester City was, in principle, the real end of his playing career. Not only in this team, but in general.”

But the player countered the comments few days after, insisting he was still on the market should a club require his services.

“Retired? Never! I will still keep playing," he told Sky Sports. "There have been so many rumours about my future in football but it’s time to make things clear.

"Football is something I cannot describe, I’ve been playing since I was young, and I will continue playing football. When it’s time for me to retire I will do it officially myself. Nobody else will speak on my behalf.”

Tuko.co.ke had earlier reported that Premier League giants Arsenal have completed the signing of Brazilian forward Ituano Futebol Clube this summer.

The 18-year-old forward has made tremendous progress since making his debut at the Sao Paulo-based club in 2017. He scored 10 goals from 34 appearances in all competitions for the outfit.

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