Emmanuel Adebayor has been on my list of people to write about ever since First Print Football launched. Some of you (mostly Arsenal fans) might disagree, but I always enjoyed watching the Togolese striker back in his Premier League days.
As a neutral, I thought the former Gunner was absolutely box office. That Usain Bolt-esque sprint from one side of the pitch to the other was quite honestly a highlight of my late 2000s football fandom. And the fact that he only narrowly missed out on a spot in the prestigious Premier League 100 Club saddens me to this day.
In this article, I’ll count down 10 facts you might not know about the Premier League legend – from his goals record and THAT celebration to his net worth and height.
Let’s kick things off with the reason why he was one of the most dangerous strikers in the world at one stage of his career…
10. Emmanuel Adebayor Premier League stats
Adebayor scored 97 goals in 241 Premier League appearances. That’s not a bad ratio considering he started 205 of those games and came off the bench 36 times.
His Premier League goalscoring record reads as follows:
- Arsenal: 46 goals in 104 games
- Manchester City: 15 goals in 34 games
- Tottenham Hotspur: 35 goals in 92 games
- Crystal Palace: 1 goal in 12 games
He also recorded 36 Premier League assists, giving him an overall record of 133 goal involvements in 241 games.
Stats courtesy of the Premier League website.
9. Why did Emmanuel Adebayor leave Arsenal?
There are two sides to this story.
According to Adebayor, he left Arsenal after Arsene Wenger said he was no longer needed at the club. Wenger, however, claims the striker departed the Emirates Stadium because he wanted more money at Manchester City.
In 2018, Adebayor dished the dirt on his relationship with Wenger in an eye-opening interview with Beyond The Game.
“I had a meeting with Arsene Wenger in his office when he told me I had to leave because he didn’t see my future anymore in Arsenal,” he said. “So I didn’t have any other choice than joining Man City, who I was very happy to join.”
Adebayor completed his move to Manchester City in July 2009. Two months later, this happened…
8. Why did Emmanuel Adebayor celebrate against Arsenal?
Adebayor scored in Manchester City’s 4-2 win over Arsenal in the Premier League in September 2009. He famously celebrated by charging to the other end of the pitch, where he knelt down and raised his arms out wide to goad the Gunners fans who used to support him.
The celebration was a clear message to Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. Adebayor felt he was disrespected at the end of his time with the club, so he used his goal celebration to vent his frustration.
In the same Beyond The Game interview, the striker explained why he grew to “hate” his former club.
“And the next day when I joined Manchester City I saw him [Wenger] doing a press conference in London saying that I wanted to leave because the money was big and everything, and since that day that is where the hate for Arsenal came from.”
7. What happened between Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure?
In January 2011, pictures emerged showing Adebayor and Kolo Toure in a physical altercation during a Manchester City training session. Other players stepped in to separate the two men, who were previously teammates for several years at Arsenal before joining City.
Toure played down the bust-up in an interview with The Sun a few days later.
“We both lost it but it calmed down quickly,” the Ivorian said. “Other players and the manager came to separate us. It’s already forgotten.”
Micah Richards, a City player at the time, was there to witness the bust-up. He later described the incident as “two absolute machines going at it”.
6. Emmanuel Adebayor once registered four assists in one game
Adebayor produced arguably the best display of his career in Tottenham’s win over Newcastle United at White Hart Lane in February 2012. He racked up four assists and scored the other goal in a 5-0 rout.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Niko Kranjcar were also on target that day, while home debutant Louis Saha scored twice.
5. Did Emmanuel Adebayor ever win the Champions League?
Unfortunately not. Adebayor was a substitute in Monaco’s 3-0 Champions League final loss against Porto in 2003-04, but he never made it onto the pitch.
Two years later, he was a member of the Arsenal squad in the season they lost 2-1 in the Champions League final against Barcelona. However, he was not allowed to represent the Gunners in the Champions League in 2005-06 because he already played for Monaco in the competition earlier in the campaign.
4. What is Emmanuel Adebayor’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Adebayor is worth $45 million (ÂŁ36.8m).
The site claims he earned almost $40 million (£32.7m) in salaries throughout his playing career. That figure doesn’t include additional incomings from ventures outside of football, such as sponsorship deals.
3. How tall is Emmanuel Adebayor?
Adebayor is 6ft 3in (191cm).
He was usually one of the tallest players in the team when he played in the Premier League. That’s excluding his time at Tottenham, where he battled for a starting spot with one of the tallest players in English football history, Peter Crouch, who towered over his teammates at 6ft 7in (201cm).
Adebayor’s height made him the perfect target man, especially at Spurs when he had the likes of Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale on hand to create chances for him.
2. Emmanuel Adebayor almost joined Aston Villa
Adebayor trained with Tim Sherwood’s Tottenham Under-21s team in 2013 after being frozen out of the first-team picture by Andre Villas-Boas. Sherwood stepped up to replace Villas-Boas as Spurs boss and immediately recalled the striker back to the senior setup.
In 2015, Sherwood tried to sign Adebayor when he was Aston Villa manager. The former Togo international travelled to Villa’s training ground before politely declining the offer.
“Tim, I spoke to my pastor and a few people back in Africa, and unfortunately I know the outcome,” Sherwood told talkSPORT, quoting Adebayor. “I’m gonna decline the offer to come to the club.”
The outcome Adebayor was referring to: relegation. It turns out he was right. The following year, Villa finished bottom of the Premier League with just 17 points.
1. What trophies did Adebayor win?
Some top players go their entire career without winning a title in a major league. Our man in question here falls into that category.
Adebayor’s only major honour came in 2010-11 when he won the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid. He replaced Mesut Ozil after 69 minutes in a memorable 1-0 win over Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo’s 103rd minute goal sealed the trophy for Madrid, managed at the time by Jose Mourinho.
Other than that, the striker finished on the losing side in three finals: Champions League 2003-04 (Monaco), League Cup 2006-07 (Arsenal) and FA Cup 2015-16 (Crystal Palace).
