Toure, who turns 35 next week, will play his 316th and final game at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night against Brighton after eight hugely successful years at the club and 79 goals.
In the 2014 title-winning campaign, he became only the second midfielder -- after Chelsea's Frank Lampard -- in Premier League history to score 20 goals in a season, but, the four-time African Player of the Year never won the Premier League Player of the Year despite his outstanding performances.
"I think maybe when I am retired from football I will have more respect," he said. "What I have achieved and what I have done, I don't think [I was given respect].
"That is why I am a little bit sad because people put a lot of pressure on Paul Pogba because they want to compare him to me. We are different. I put the game so far away that people think it is easy.
"When you see the type of run, how many times you can do it, box-to-box, and be able to start the ball from defence and be able to finish as well, and how many games in the Premier League. People don't know how dedicated I was."
Toure believes that helping City to overtake bitter rivals United was his greatest achievement as he prepares to say his farewell to the fans.
He joined City in a £28 million move from Barcelona and in his first season scored winning goals at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinal victory over United and final against Stoke City to end a 35-year wait for silverware.
The Ivory Coast midfielder has gone onto win three Premier League titles and two League Cups but says that win over United was the start of City becoming the top club in Manchester.
"When I came to City, for them to be a big club, we had to put [United] in our shadow," he said. "We cannot compare -- they have so many trophies, so many Champions League finals, but that was the purpose -- to come to City, to put United in the shadow although it would be difficult.
"But the semifinal was a big part of it. Definitely, United was in our way. We had to remove them, they were such a force, they won the league that year. To come to the game, they had such confidence, they thought they were going to beat us.
"I'll never forget it, they missed big chances. At half-time, we were nearly fighting in the dressing room. [We wanted to] go out and play like men -- or we go home again and say to [chairman] Khaldoon [al-Mubarak]: 'Thank you, we've eaten the money but we move on because this club will never achieve.'"