Toure: Africans are not recognized

The Ivory Coast international, who has won
league titles in England, Spain and Greece,
as well as the Champions League with
Barcelona, was among the six names
shortlisted for the Professional Footballers'
Association’s Player of the Year award on
Friday .
Following the club’s Capital One Cup victory
at Wembley in March, Samir Nasri claimed
Toure would be considered as the best
midfielder in the world if he wasn’t African.
“I think what Samir was saying was
definitely true,” Toure told BBC’s Football
Focus. "To be honest, proper recognition
has only come from the fans.
“I don't want to be hard and I don't want
to be negative, but I want to be honest.
"If you go to any part of Africa now, people
will say 'yes, we know him [Lionel Messi]',
but when you come to Europe and say
'Yaya Toure' people will say 'who is that?'
"Some will say they know my name but not
know my face. But they will know Messi's
face.
"I am very proud to be African, I want to
defend African people and I want to show
to the world that African players can be as
good as the Europeans and South
Americans."