Former Premier League striker Emmanuel Adebayor has announced his retirement from football aged 39.
Adebayor enjoyed a 22-year professional career, which saw him play in France, England, Spain, Turkey, Paraguay and his native Togo. He scored 97 goals in 241 appearances in the Premier League, playing for Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
That record places him 35th on the list of the league’s all-time top scorers, between Tottenham forward Son Heung-min and Nigerian striker Yakubu. While he spent most of his career in the Premier League, he also turned out for Metz and Monaco in France, Real Madrid in Spain and Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.
He has now announced his decision to hang up his boots. “SEA, from the highs to the lows, my career as a professional athlete has been an incredible journey,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you to my fans for being there every step of the way. I’m feeling so grateful for everything, and excited for what’s to come!”
Adebayor made his name at Arsenal, who signed him from Monaco for £3million in January 2006. He stayed for three years in Arsene Wenger ’s side and exploded onto the scene by scoring 30 times in the 2007/08 season.
HAVE YOUR SAY! How will you remember Emmanuel Adebayor? Comment below.
Manchester City swooped in the summer of 2009, paying the Gunners £25m to sign him on a five-year contract. Adebayor revealed later that he did not want to leave Arsenal – and felt the club had been swayed by the money on offer.
“[My agent] didn't really say why they wanted to sell me but I found out that they need the money and someone had to leave – that was me,” he said.
“Wenger put me where I am today but he cannot stand up and say last summer I told him I wanted to leave. I told him I wanted to stay. I don't think our relationship is broken. I think they need the money and need to sell someone. They chose me and they got their money."
Adebayor’s most infamous moment came in a Man City shirt, when he scored against Arsenal and sprinted the length of the pitch to perform a knee-slide celebration in front of the fans of his former club. The celebration did not go down well, with Adebayor punished by the FA.
Speaking to The Daily Mail years later, he said that racism had prompted his passionate celebration: “This is the thing. And it is why I have not said anything about racism the past few weeks.
“When I celebrated, the FA fined me, they punished me. Nothing happened to the Arsenal fans. So it [racism] started with me and long before me.
"I remember getting to the stadium and Arsenal fans were there. All I heard was the chant ‘Your mother is a whore and your father washes elephants’.
“My father worked in currency exchange and my mother is a businesswoman. But this went on and on. So how can I reply? I didn’t have a voice to go against thousands of supporters."
