Emmanuel Adebayor

Who is Emmanuel Adebayor?

Emmanuel Adebayor is a retired Togolese professional footballer, born Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor on 26 February 1984 in Lomé to Nigerian parents. He rose from a modest background playing for Sporting Club de Lomé before French club Metz signed him in 1999, and he made his Ligue 1 debut in 2001. After a strong season in Ligue 2 he moved to Monaco in 2003, playing as an unused substitute in the club's 2004 UEFA Champions League final defeat to Porto. In January 2006 Arsenal signed him for around three million pounds; over his time at the club he scored 62 goals in 142 appearances, highlighted by a 30-goal 2007-08 season that earned him the CAF African Footballer of the Year award in 2008, the first Togolese player to win the honor. He went on to play for Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, and clubs in Turkey and Paraguay before retiring in March 2023. Internationally, Adebayor led Togo to its only FIFA World Cup appearance, at the 2006 tournament in Germany, and remains the national team's all-time top scorer with 32 goals, making him one of the most recognized African footballers of his generation.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Emmanuel Adebayor" · Arsenal.com, player profile "Emmanuel Adebayor" · Sky Sports, "Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo | Player Profile"