- Birthdate: 19 March 1981
- Birthplace: Bouaké, Ivory Coast
- Other clubs: ASEC Mimosas (1994-2002), Arsenal (2002-09), Manchester City (2009-13), Celtic (2016-17)
- Signed from: Free Transfer
- Signed for LFC: 02.07.2013
- International debut: 02.07.2000 vs. Niger
- International caps: 108/6 - 24.06.2014
- Liverpool debut: 17.08.2013
- Last appearance: 18.05.2016
- Debut goal: 14.02.2016
- Last goal: 14.02.2016
- Contract expiry: 01.07.2016
- Win ratio: 54.93% W:39 D:17 L:15
- League games / goals / assists: 46 / 1 / 2
- Total games / goals / assists: 71 / 1 / 2
Player Profile
The retirement of Jamie Carragher, the return of Danny Wilson to a Scottish club, the injury problems that had seen Daniel Agger appear in only one hundred and fifty-five Premier League matches since his arrival in early 2006 out of a maximum of two hundred and eighty-three by the end of the 2012/13 season, a serious injury to Martin Kelly, the indifferent form of Martin Skrtel, the general perception that neither Sebastian Coates nor Andre Wisdom were quite ready to play in a number of consecutive first-team matches: probably a mixture of all these factors forced Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to act immediately once the final match of the 2012/13 season had taken place.
Rodgers did not need to look far. Just over thirty miles east in fact. To Manchester, where Kolo Touré’s four-year contract with Manchester City was about to come to an end, a successful spell that had seen him collect winners’ medals in both the Premier League and the FA Cup, having also achieved that with his previous club, Arsenal, where he had been a member of the Gunners’ “Invincibles” squad of 2003/04 and an FA Cup winner either side of that unbeaten League season, although he was actually only an unused substitute in the final against Southampton in 2003. The Ivorian passed his thirty-second birthday shortly before the end of his final season in Manchester. An accomplished defender at both club and international level (and with considerable experience gallivanting as a car salesman) Touré seemed to be an ideal addition to Liverpool’s squad because he already had eleven years experience of the Premier League behind him.
After a few barren years in the 1990s, Arsenal had got used to winning prizes again by the time Touré arrived in England in February, 2002. He settled quickly into English life and averaged thirty Premier League matches a season during his seven years in north London. Following his transfer to Manchester City, he became more of a squad-player than a regular in the team and this meant that he only appeared in fourteen League matches as City won the English championship in 2012 for the first time in forty-four years. Touré first played for his country, the Ivory Coast, in the year 2000, appeared in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups in Germany and South Africa and has also been a stand-out player in the Africa Cup of Nations, a competition in which he has suffered huge disappointments after his country lost two finals on penalties, in 2006 to Egypt and in 2012 to Zambia.
This was not a long-term solution to Liverpool’s central defensive problems, but the signing of a free agent who has already played in over three hundred English Premier League matches. On the face of it, it looked to be a very shrewd piece of business indeed, the acquisition of a man who was vastly experienced and hungry for more success before his playing days come to an end. Touré appeared in just over half the Premier League matches in 2013/14 and he was also selected to play in two of the five domestic cup-ties. Mostly his vast experience was an asset but an unfortunate and uncharacteristic error at West Bromwich in February cost his team two valuable points. He only started two matches after that and had to be content with a place on the substitutes' bench for the final half-dozen matches of the season. Touré played only in the Ivory Coast's final group match in the World Cup finals in Brazil: a 2-1 defeat by Greece in Fortaleza. The last-minute penalty winner by Georgios Samaras meant that the Greeks went through to the knock-out stage of the tournament but the Africans were eliminated. Liverpool had agreed to sell Touré to Trabzonspor in Turkey in the summer of 2014, but he opted to stay at Liverpool and fight for his place.
The Ivorian defender made made 21 appearances for Liverpool in 2014/15 but was only in the starting team thirteen times. He was expected to leave in the summer of 2015 to get more game time elsewhere but he accepted the club's offer of a one year contract extension, knowing that his experience was needed following the departure of captain Steven Gerrard. He made 26 appearances in all competitions, more than either of the previous two. With Martin Skrtel often out of form or suffering from injury, his presence was crucial in the run to the Europa League final, especially after Mamadou Sakho was banned for failing a drugs test. He got his first Reds goal in a 6-0 win at Aston Villa on 14th February but despite appearing in the Europa League final and expressing a desire to stay, he was released at the end of his contract. On 24 July 2016 Kolo was reunited with former manager Brendan Rodgers, signing for Celtic on a one-year deal. He made seventeen appearances in a season Celtic were unbeaten domestically as they won a treble. He then retired from playing and joined the background staff as a technical assistant, working across all age levels at the club, before moving on to Leicester City as a coach in 2019, following Rodgers to the club. In November 2022 Toure left Leicester to take up his first managerial position at struggling Championship side Wigan Athletic.
Appearances per season
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
7 |
579 |
Stoke City |
5 |
441 |
Arsenal |
4 |
280 |
Bournemouth |
4 |
258 |
Sunderland |
4 |
192 |
Manchester City |
4 |
138 |
Swansea City |
3 |
270 |
Aston Villa |
3 |
234 |
Manchester United |
2 |
180 |
Newcastle United |
2 |
180 |
Leicester City |
2 |
180 |
WBA |
2 |
180 |
Villarreal |
2 |
166 |
Sion |
2 |
141 |
Blackburn Rovers |
2 |
125 |
Hull City |
2 |
117 |
Bordeaux |
2 |
92 |
Crystal Palace |
2 |
87 |
Chelsea |
2 |
63 |
Burnley |
1 |
120 |
Middlesbrough |
1 |
120 |
Notts County |
1 |
120 |
Besiktas |
1 |
90 |
Ludogorets |
1 |
90 |
Augsburg |
1 |
90 |
Real Madrid |
1 |
90 |
Oldham Athletic |
1 |
90 |
Southampton |
1 |
90 |
Norwich City |
1 |
90 |
Fulham |
1 |
90 |
Everton |
1 |
83 |
Sevilla |
1 |
5 |
West Ham United |
1 |
4 |
AFC Wimbledon |
1 |
0 |
QPR |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
52 |
Started |
58 |
On the bench |
19 |
Substitute |
10 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
36 |
Away |
35 |
Home |
Goals per season
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
17.08.2013 |
Stoke City |
Anfield |
League |
50 |
26.11.2015 |
Bordeaux |
Anfield |
Europe |
Milestone Goals
# |
Minute |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
71 |
14.02.2016 |
Aston Villa |
Villa Park |
League |
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Arsenal |
2002-2003 |
Premier League |
26 |
2 |
40 |
2 |
Arsenal |
2003-2004 |
Premier League |
37 |
1 |
55 |
3 |
Arsenal |
2004-2005 |
Premier League |
35 |
0 |
50 |
1 |
Arsenal |
2005-2006 |
Premier League |
33 |
0 |
46 |
1 |
Arsenal |
2006-2007 |
Premier League |
35 |
3 |
53 |
4 |
Arsenal |
2007-2008 |
Premier League |
30 |
2 |
41 |
2 |
Arsenal |
2008-2009 |
Premier League |
29 |
1 |
41 |
1 |
Manchester City |
2009-2010 |
Premier League |
31 |
1 |
35 |
2 |
Manchester City |
2010-2011 |
Premier League |
22 |
1 |
29 |
1 |
Manchester City |
2011-2012 |
Premier League |
14 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
Manchester City |
2012-2013 |
Premier League |
15 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
Celtic |
2016-2017 |
Scotland 1 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Total |
307 |
11 |
428 |
17 |