If there is one downside to the Culé culture, it is the way they have let go of some of their stars in the past. Cruyff, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Stoichkov, Kluivert, Ronaldinho, Deco, and Samuel Eto'o just to name some stars of note. Also include Javier Saviola and Yaya Touré in that list. This has been one thing that has remained constant with Barca brass regardless of who was the president.
When there are players that are ready to make an exit through the back door, what better way to do so than by having a virtuoso performance. Week 38 came around and there were lots of doubts in the Barcelona midfield as Xavi was out due to suspension and Andrés Iniesta was injured. Pep Guardiola started Seydou Keita, Sergio Busquets, and Yaya Touré and people cringed because there was no one that was there in an exclusive creation role. Enter the former Olympiacos man; he showed everyone yet again why he was signed and Barca decided to keep him after his back surgery around this time two summers ago.
That doubt was clearly erased as soon as the Ivorian international started showing his skill with the ball at his feet. His assists to Lio Messi and Bojan. Although he was not gliding like Iniesta or being as millimetric as Xavi, Touré has the combination of pace and ability that is a notch below very few others in the world. Yaya was the co-player of that match that handed Barcelona their 20th league title. Let's not get too carried away as they were playing a Valladolid side whose 15 minutes flickered away and their descent into the second division turned from probability to reality. His runs into the box and assists made the difference for the Blaugrana that night.
Villa's arrival and Ibrahimovic's departure have overshadowed Yaya Touré's probable move to England. In the end, his departure could be the one factor that could put Real Madrid over the top of the arch rivals. Guardiola gave the midfielder limited playing time throughout the season as he saw that Sergio Busquets surpassed him. In my humble opinion, Busquets took a step backwards in his development. His first season he broke out and earned his spot in the Spanish national team. This season he became a player that was extremely prone to getting carded and extremely error prone in the back. The end product was usually a goal for the opposing team.