Henry, Messi & Drogba - Yaya Toure picks his ultimate XI & includes six forwards!

Yaya Toure opted for no fewer than five strikers in a seriously top-heavy formation as he selected his ultimate team-mate XI .

Comprising players from his time at Manchester City, Barcelona and with the Ivory Coast, Toure picked a side featuring an attacking sextet and just a single player shielding an exposed back three.

Lionel Messi features, unsurprisingly, in a role behind an advanced strike partnership of Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.

Thierry Henry plays on the left wing, the position he began his career in as a youngster at Monaco and Juventus before former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger switched him to centre-forward.

Sergio Aguero also takes up a less that customary position alongside Messi in attacking midfield, with his City team-mate Leroy Sane outside of him taking up the right wing.

Andres Iniesta has the unenviable role of protecting the defence all on his own, whilst presumably chaos reigns in front of him, ahead of a three-man back line comprising City skipper Vincent Kompany, Spanish World Cup-winner Carlos Puyol and former Barcelona stopper Rafael Marquez.

In goal, Brazil and City ‘keeper Ederson takes up the role of both goalkeeper and sweeper behind a defence that would likely require serious cover.

Toure played alongside Marquez and Puyol during a trophy-laden spell at Barca under Pep Guardiola around the turn of the decade.

With Messi and Henry feeding off the deep midfield play of Spanish master Iniesta, Barca picked up the Champions League and two La Liga crowns during Toure's stay.

It is a mark of the quality of that side that Toure himself was something of a squad player during the Camp Nou club’s most successful spell.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football , studio guest Jamie Carragher said: “I would love to see you as a manager playing this formation.”

In defence of his line-up Toure said: “I would want to keep my opponent far from my goal. And have guys who are focused and control the game.

“Now, football is about the team. Sometimes when you see a team playing against an opponent, you see the gap between the lines.”