Wilfried Bony has said that Yaya Toure encouraged him to believe he could sign for one of the major clubs long before Manchester City tried to buy him.
The Swansea forward completed his 25 million-pound move to the Premier League champions on Wednesday, meaning he will now link up with Ivory Coast teammate Toure for club and country.
But former Vitesse Arnhem forward Bony said the midfielder had long tried to persuade him he was bound for greater things.
He told City's official website: "I spoke to him a lot in the national team before City was interested so he gives me a lot of advice. He said to me: 'You are on the way to joining a big club so continue your start. Just work really hard and you will be there.'"
Bony struck 34 times in 70 games for Swansea and was the Premier League's 20-goal top scorer in the 2014 calendar year.
But he started out as a centre-back, as he explained: "I was a defender but this is a long time ago. One of our strikers was getting injured a lot and the coach asked me to go forward and I took the chance and I was scoring goals and he said: 'I don't want you at the back any more.' I became a striker."
Bony also confirmed a rumour his mother is a black belt in judo, saying: "Yes. She is strong so I took everything from her. She is my best friend."
The 26-year-old insisted he is unworried by the prospect of being in and out of the City side as manager Manuel Pellegrini adopts a policy of squad rotation.
He added: "I just have to be ready for everything and whatever he asks me to do is a good opportunity and a good challenge."