Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré recently expressed his desire to remain in England after rumors went out that he snubbed a $620,000 per week offer from an unnamed Chinese Super League club.

The Ivory Coast international is a former Monaco and Barcelona standout and has been with City since the summer of 2010. He was bought from Barça for a transfer fee of around $30 million at that time and signed a five-year deal with the Etihad giants.

Like Us on Facebook

In six-and-a-half seasons with the Citizens, Touré has now appeared in a total of 281 games in all competitions, scoring 79 goals in the process. He helped City win two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, and a Community Shield while winning Manchester City Player of the Year honors during the 2013-2014 season.

Touré began the season on the bench as he was initially slighted by head coach Pep Guardiola. However, he has won his first-team place back as he is now a regular in Guardiola's starting midfield, Sports Mole reported.

"I always say that if I went to China I would end up feeling angry there," said Touré. "Do you play football because you love football, or do you play because you want to make money? What's the purpose?"

"Me, I just want to play football because I enjoy it, I love playing. I enjoy helping my teammates, I enjoy playing against the big players and teams. I want to carry on in that way," he said.

Touré then went on to say that he has nothing against players who choose the Chinese Super League because "some people have the mentality" to try new things. He said that for him he wants to "play more football" against the big teams.

Touré, 33, even compared himself to close friend Zlatan Ibrahimović of Manchester United, saying that they have the "same mentality" of wanting to play in the big leagues despite their advanced ages, via Goal.

"He (Ibrahimović) got the same mentality as me. He's a big player, a champion who loves football. It's football first," Touré said. "Anything after that is a bonus. You can be lucky to go and play for big clubs and still earn a lot of money. But those who go to China... I don't think like that."

TagsChinese Super League, Chinese Super League rumors, Chinese Super League rumors 2017, Yaya Toure, Manchester City