As he prepares to say goodbye to Manchester City, it's time to appreciate Yaya Toure as one of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.

During his prime the 34-year-old had everything: pace, power, finesse, dribbling, creativity and an eye for goal from all distances.

Playing against him must have been a nightmare and according to Frank Lampard, Toure is comfortably in the five toughest midfield opponents he's faced.

"Steven Gerrard probably edges it as the best I have played against for his consistency over the years," said Lampard, "but Yaya is up there along with Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Paul Scholes.

"Every midfielder has different attributes but the best players are the ones you fear, and I certainly did that when I was up against Yaya.

"When I faced him, I knew he was very good on the ball and could pass it around me if he wanted to. He knew the moments to keep it simple and move the ball around.

"But if you got too close to him to try to stop him doing that, he also had that ability to drive through midfield and his physical power and pace made it so difficult to stay with him."

ONE OF THE GREATS

Toure was nigh-on unstoppable on his day, yet the Ivorian claims there was one Premier League player he 'hated' because he always knew how to handle him.

And he plays for Manchester United of all clubs.

According to Toure, Nemanja Matic is his toughest ever opponent because they share the same kind of attributes, such as height and power.

"I hate him, this b******!" said Toure recently. "He's such a difficult player to play against. Tall and strong as well.

"It's been fun to play against him, even though it's difficult. He's powerful, he's tall. To be able to find an opponent to play against me and stop me.

"There's few of them, but Matic was one of the close ones who was able to give me problems. He can run. He can fall back. He can track. He can fight. He's a good, good player."

Toure and Matic have enjoyed some memorable battles down the years but sadly it's all about to come to an end.

Staying in the Premier League could yet be on the cards for Toure, though it all depends on whether anyone is prepared to offer him a one-year deal on the wages he'll desire.