Football
ESPN staff 7y

Yaya Toure and agent Dimitri Seluk vow to give £100,000 after attack

The agent for Yaya Toure says both he and the Manchester City player will donate £50,000 toward those impacted by Monday night's attack in the city.

Eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos was one of at least 22 people to die in an explosion at the Manchester Arena, and Dimitri Seluk cited her death as a reason behind his planned donation.

"The news an eight-year-old girl went to see her favourite singer and didn't return home is too much to bear," Seluk said on Sky Sports. "Yaya and I want to help. We talked this morning about what happened and he asked me what he thought we could do.

"We have agreed to donate £50,000 each to help the victims of this terrible crime. It doesn't matter whether the victims are from Manchester or not.

"Those of us lucky enough to work every day in football can do so because of the generosity of fans across the world. Yaya is from Cote D'Ivoire [Ivory Coast], I am Russian. It doesn't matter. Today is a chance for those of us in football to help out.

"My son is eight years old and I can't image the pain and the suffering that the parents of Saffie will be going through today."

Seluk, who made news last year for his feud with City coach Pep Guardiola that kept his client sidelined, said before the attack that Toure wants to stay in Manchester until he retires.

Toure himself tweeted on Tuesday morning:

An online fundraising campaign started by the Manchester Evening News had raised over £700,000 as of Tuesday night.

Also on Tuesday, former Manchester United great Eric Cantona recorded a message of support and solidarity, saying "my heart is with you."

Ex-France international Cantona, who retired from football at the age of 30 in 1997 after a hugely successful five-year spell at United, said his thoughts were with those affected.

"I think deeply to the victims, to the wounded persons, kids, teenagers, adults, to their families, to their friends, to all, all of you, all of us," the 50-year-old said in a video shared on Eurosport UK's Twitter feed.

"I think to this city, Manchester, and Mancunians, that I love deeply. I think to this country, England, and the English, that I love deeply. I suffer with you, my heart is with you. I always feel close to you."

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