Touré aspired to be a striker during his youth[4] and has played centre-back, including for Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final.

[5] However, he spent the majority of his career as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country, where he has been regarded as one of the world's best players in his position.

[7][8] Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut at age 18.

In 2001, Guillou invested heavily in a Belgian club, Beveren, with the aim of using the team to showcase Ivorian players in a European league.

The BBC Sport website said that Touré "blotted his copy book by missing Arsenal's clearest chance of the game, heading a cross from Quincy Owusu-Abeyie wide.

[13] Ultimately, Touré grew impatient and opted to sign for Ukrainian club Metalurh Donetsk in December 2003, where he spent one and a half years.

[19] Laurent Banide replaced Bölöni and Touré subsequently became an influential player in the second half of the season, scoring five times to help haul the club out of relegation difficulties.

[24] His first UEFA Champions League match for Barcelona was against Schalke 04 in the 2007–08 quarter-final, securing a 2–0 aggregate victory and a berth in the semi-final.

[25] During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, newly appointed manager Pep Guardiola favoured Sergio Busquets in the defensive role of Barcelona's midfield trio.

[27] On 2 July 2010, Touré signed a five-year contract with Premier League club Manchester City for a fee of around £24 million.

[29] A week later, Touré impressed in the 3–0 home win over Liverpool, forming a part of a three-man midfield with Gareth Barry and Nigel de Jong.

On 16 April 2011, Touré scored the only goal of the game in a Man of the Match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.

On 21 December 2011, in a 3–0 home win over Stoke City, Touré set new Premier League records for most passes attempted (168) and most completed (157) in a single match.

In City's opening UEFA Champions League match of the season, away to Real Madrid, Touré produced a stellar individual performance, assisting an Edin Džeko goal and continually worrying the hosts.

[47] On 24 February 2013, after returning from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Touré scored the opening goal as City beat Chelsea 2–0 in the Premier League.

[49] Touré scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season with a free kick as City defeated Newcastle United 4–0 in their opening Premier League match.

[65] On 10 August 2015, Touré scored as Manchester City defeated West Bromwich Albion 3–0 at The Hawthorns in their opening fixture of the 2015–16 Premier League season.

[68] A few weeks after a public apology to Guardiola on behalf of his agent, Touré made a surprising return to the first team on 16 November, starting against Crystal Palace in which he scored two goals to earn City a 2–1 away win.

[citation needed] Touré was a regular member of the Ivory Coast national team from his debut in 2004 to the end of his international career after 2015.

[citation needed] In the 2010 tournament, he again played in all three of his nation's games, scoring the opening goal in a 3–0 win over North Korea.

[citation needed] Touré made his third and final World Cup tournament appearance during the 2014 competition, and captained the team in their opening match, a 2–1 defeat of Japan.

[79] On 4 February 2015, Touré scored the opening goal in the Ivory Coast's 3–1 semi-final victory over DR Congo to qualify the team for their third Africa Cup of Nations final in nine years.

[80] On 8 February, in the final held at the Estadio de Bata in Equatorial Guinea, Touré captained the Ivory Coast as they won a first AFCON title since 1992, defeating Ghana in a penalty shoot-out.

He was gifted with good technique and ball control, although he also excelled defensively at breaking down opposing attacking plays and winning back possession through his powerful tackling ability.

[86][84] He was known for his pace, stamina and physical presence, which was often combined with runs from midfield, and he had been referred to as a "human train" and a "colossus" by various pundits.

Jonathan Wilson, when writing for The Guardian in 2013, described Touré as a holding midfielder who can "make tackles," and who was "capable of regaining the ball," while also noting that he frequently functioned "as the more creative player alongside a destroyer."

As such, he labelled Touré as a "carrier" or "surger," namely "a player capable of making late runs or carrying the ball at his feet.

[99] On 3 November 2023, Touré was named as assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team, to join the staff of his former manager at Manchester City Roberto Mancini.

[103] In October 2013, Touré joined a campaign against elephant poaching, becoming a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.