Yaya Toure's agent continues war of words with Pep Guardiola: 'Lionel Messi made Barcelona not him, my grandfather could have won the league with Bayern Munich and he should go to Sunderland if he wants to prove himself as a great manager'

• e-mail

Dimitri Seluk's bitter war of words with Pep Guardiola shows no sign of abating, with Yaya Toure's agent now claiming the Spaniard had little to do with Barcelona's success during his tenure.

Seluk has been embroiled in a very public, 24-hour row with the Manchester City manager after Guardiola demanded an apology from the Ukrainian for his recent comments about the club.

Toure's long-standing representative, whose client has been sidelined under Guardiola and told he will not play for City again unless Seluk apologises, has added fuel to the flames by suggesting Barca's domination of Spain and Europe was down to Frank Rijkaard and Lionel Messi - and not the current Etihad Stadium boss. 

Pep Guardiola has been blasted by Yaya Toure's agent over his handling of the midfielder

Toure has found himself out of favour under Guardiola at Manchester City

Guardiola has taken exception to comments made by Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk

Seluk has said Guardiola was not the reason for Barcelona's immense success during his tenure and that he should 'go to Zaragoza or Sunderland' to prove himself as a manager

'The team he took at Barca had been built by Frank Rijkaard and then he was lucky to have Lionel Messi,' Seluk told the Daily Mirror. 

'It was Messi who made Barca, not Pep. Luis Enrique has shown that Barca's success was not down to Guardiola. 

Guardiola won three La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns during his time at the Nou Camp, and followed that with three consecutive Bundesliga victories in Bavaria, but Seluk questioned his pedigree. 

'It was the same in Munich. He couldn't fail. My grandfather could have won the league with that team, he said. 

'If Pep wants to prove himself as a great manager, then he should go to Zaragoza or Sunderland. Let's see how good he is when he doesn't take over a great team and hasn't got half-a-billion pounds to spend.' 

Toure does not feature in the Manchester City team photograph, released on Tuesday

Seluk is Toure's long-standing confidant and has never been shy to express an opinion

The midfielder has only made one appearance for City this season - against Steaua Bucharest

Guardiola revealed he will not play Toure until Seluk has apologised for comments which suggested the Ivorian felt 'humiliated' by his treatment at City this season

On Tuesday, Seluk declared his willingness to go to war with Guardiola over Toure's treatment at City since the Spaniard arrived at the Etihad.

Previously, the Ukrainian has claimed his Ivorian client was 'humiliated' at being left out of the club's Champions League squad, while Toure has only made one appearance under Guardiola - a second-leg clash with Steaua Bucharest in which the City coach blooded the likes of Pablo Maffeo, Tosin Adarabioyo and Angelino.

Furthermore, the four-time African Player of the Year was not included in the club's team photograph, which was released on Tuesday.

While Toure was suffering from a migraine at the time the picture was taken, City's decision to go ahead without him speaks volumes about the increasingly hostile stand-off between his agent and manager. 

Seluk said: 'Pep doesn't want players with personality. He only wants players who are scared of him and will do what he says.

'The first thing he did when he arrived at City was to pick a fight with Yaya and Joe Hart, two of the club's biggest players. They have both been big personalities in the dressing room at City and Guardiola doesn't like that.' 

The former Barcelona boss has led City to eight wins out of eight so far this season

Toure announced his retirement from international football with the Ivory Coast on Tuesday

The agent has called on the Spaniard to say sorry to goalkeeper Joe Hart and former City boss Manuel Pellegrini for his role in their Etihad exits but Guardiola is insistent on an apology.

'I know how much Dimitri Seluk loves Yaya,' he said. 'If he loves him, show me by apologising to Manchester City for what he did in the papers. Until he speaks, Yaya isn't going to play. 

'I cannot accept every agent when his player does not play he goes to the media and speaks. I cannot imagine in my day at Barcelona when a player's agent would go to the media and speak against Johan Cruyff.

'Maybe it's the new era but I'm old generation and an old generation agent has to make his players his job and the coach does his job. Today agents believe they are more than they are. If you have a problem, we can talk.'

For now, there remains an impasse and Toure faces being left in limbo for the remaining eight months of his £225,000-a-week deal.  

'Guardiola wins a few games and thinks he is king.' 

Seluk has said of City's Spanish coach: 'Guardiola wins a few games and thinks he is king'