Emmanuel Adebayor, a former striker for Manchester City and Arsenal, has announced his retirement at the age of 39.
Throughout a professional career that began in 2001 with Metz, the former Togo international also spent time with Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Crystal Palace. In 2003, Adebayor moved from Metz to Monaco, where he grabbed the attention of legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who took him to the Premier League in January 2006.
He was reportedly paid a whopping £25 million by City in July 2009, and in September of that same year, he made headlines for sprinting the length of the field to celebrate a goal in front of Arsenal fans. After losing favor under Roberto Mancini, he moved to Real Madrid for a brief loan in January 2011 before moving to Tottenham in August of the same year, originally on loan.
Adebayor had a nomadic career ending after his contract was mutually ended in September 2015; he played for Palace, Istanbul Basaksehir, Kayserispor, and Olimpia before going back to Togo with Semassi in July 2021.
