The top tier of the FTBL ranking Cote d’Ivoire defenders is dominated by Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue and new Manchester City recruit Kolo Touré. Eboue is in second place with 50.23 points behind Touré, who has 61.23 points.

In the constant battle for the top spot between the two former teammates, Touré grabbed the lead on June 10 after Cote d’Ivoire’s 3:2 win over Burkina Faso in a World Cup 2010 qualifier. He picked up 10 rating points in the game and surged past Eboue in the rating.

Touré should have a perfect chance to consolidate his lead in his first appearance for Manchester City as he will be guaranteed a bonus of 10 rating points: he dropped the same amount of rating points in Arsenal’s 4:1 loss to Chelsea in Premier League action. Eboue, on the other hand, is guaranteed just over 1 rating point, which he dropped in Arsenal’s 1:3 loss to Manchester United.