Manuel Pellegrini is adamant that Yaya Toure is happy to stay at Manchester City amid Roberto Mancini's desire to sign the midfielder for Inter Milan.
Last week Inter's vice president Javier Zanetti said the club was closing in on a deal to sign the 32-year-old, while former City manager Mancini has made no secret of his determination to sign the Ivory Coast international.
Despite Toure's agent saying his client "is too important [for City] to let go," Mancini told an event at the San Siro on Tuesday night: "Everything's as it was.
"I'm confident that we'll have a competitive side and our CEO [Michael] Bolingbroke has promised to do all he can, and I'm certain he will do.
"I think the fans want Yaya Toure to join the Nerazzurri and my hope remains the same. We want to build a great Inter."
Toure is Inter's primary target in the transfer market this summer with Mancini promised funds by club president Erick Thohir, who is set to invest heavily in restoring his side to the top of the Italian game.
However, City manager Pellegrini has long played down the prospect of Toure leaving and says his dealings with the former Barcelona player gave him confidence he was content to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
"I always said that Yaya is very happy here," Pellegrini said at a news conference in Toronto. "He doesn't have any intention to go to another club.
"I am always talking with all the players. That's why when I said Yaya will stay here it's because I know the way he thinks."
Pellegrini -- who won the Premier League and the Capital One Cup in his first season at City -- is set to stay on for a third year despite ending the his second campaign with no silverware.
His position was cast into doubt when City crashed out of the Champions League during a run of six defeats in eight games that ensured their season ended in disappointment.
But while Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola remains a long-term target for City, Pellegrini said that he was never worried about being sacked as chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak, chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain gave him assurances he would remain in charge.
"I've never had any doubts about my future throughout the whole season," he added. "It was absolutely clear what the owners think. They were not happy -- exactly the same as me and the players. But they are not owners who think if we don't win the title you must go.
"Of course we must analyse the season, you must try to arrange a lot of things, but I am always talking with them. When you read in the news that you are sacked the rumours have to come from somewhere.
"But I have a great communication with them and I don't have any doubts even in the worst part of the season. They always give me assurances. Not just because we have finished winning."
ESPN FC correspondent Ben Gladwell contributed to this report.