MANCHESTER -- Yaya Toure has dismissed the idea of going to the Chinese Super League and says he has plenty of years in him at the top in Europe.
The Manchester City midfielder has fought his way back into Pep Guardiola's plans after apologising for comments made about the Catalan coach by his agent Dimitri Seluk.
Toure, 33, who has started City's last eight matches, is out of contract at the end of the summer and reportedly turned down an offer worth £520,000-a-week from Jiangsu Suning last year.
But the Ivorian wants to stay at the Etihad and believes he can copy Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and play at the top level deep into his thirties.
"Look at my friend Ibrahimovic, he's 35 and he's going to play for maybe ... three more years? He's got the same mentality as me, he's a big player, a champion who loves football," Toure told reporters.
"It's football first. Anything after that is a bonus, you can be lucky to go and play for big clubs and still earn a lot of money. But those who go to China -- I don't think like that."
Asked if the ideal situation would be to remain with City, he said: "Yes, definitely. I've said before that I've been involved with a lot of clubs. But especially at City, I want to give something back to the fans.
"I'd like to continue to work hard for them, keep giving them entertainment, keep them happy -- that's what I want.
"In the end, I know myself. If I was tired, I'd say 'no more, move on.' But I don't feel like that, I feel very, very good. I feel young."
Toure is already among Europe's highest paid players. And he insists the decision over his next contract will be based on football rather than money. And he says he has plenty to offer title-challenging clubs across Europe, which is why he would rule out any move to China if an offer came.
"I'm still looking young, right? I want to play in Europe, especially in England. I want to continue doing that for a few years yet," he added.
"That's my idea. I always say that if I went to China I would end up feeling angry there. Do you play football because you love football or do you play because you want to make money? What's the purpose?
"Me, I just want to play football because I enjoy it, I love playing. I enjoy helping my teammates, I enjoy playing against the big players and teams.
"I want to carry on in that way. Some people have the mentality that they want to do that -- to try something different. But for me, my feeling is that I want to play more football."