Toure apologises to Manchester City

The midfielder has been frozen out of the first team under Pep Guardiola ever since the City manager became angered by critical comments from the 33-year-old's agent, Dimitri Seluk.

Toure has since apologised on behalf of his representative but has yet to make an appearance since the second leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucharest in August.

His older brother Kolo, now at Celtic, says a return to Ligue 1 with Marseille could be a shrewd move for the former Monaco man.

"He still has talent and some things to prove," he told RMC. "Of course it's difficult at City at the moment. We've all been through that. We're at the top and at some point you go down.

"He has to understand that and maybe go for a change of air, to go somewhere where people want you.

"Honestly, I haven't talked to him about that [Marseille]. He's still at City, I respect that. But OM is a great club. He knows the French championship well, so it could be a great club for him."

Toure spent the 2006-2007 season with Monaco before joining Barcelona.

American businessman Frank McCourt completed a takeover of Marseille last month and has pledged to construct a side capable of challenging Paris Saint-Germain for Ligue 1 supremacy.

Rudi Garcia was appointed as head coach shortly after McCourt bought the club from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, and a number of players have been linked with a January switch to Stade Velodrome, including Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel and Inter's Geoffrey Kondogbia.