Emmanuel Adebayor has been paid nearly £500,000 after a FIFA tribunal ruled that he was the subject of an ‘unfair sacking’ from Paraguayan side Olimpia.
Following a wonderful playing career, the 38-year-old is closing in on the end of one footballing chapter.
In his prime, he captivated fans worldwide with his incredible performances. During his time with Arsenal, he impressed the Emirates faithful with 46 goals in 104 appearances.
However, his relationship with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger eventually turned sour. Following his controversial move to Manchester City, he branded the Frenchman as ‘fake’ in an interview with Sky Sports.
He said: “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 any more in Arsenal. So I didn’t have any other choice than joining Man City, who I was very happy to join.
“And the next day when I joined Manchester City, I saw him 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.”
So when the striker had the opportunity to enact his revenge, he took it with both hands. He scored against the Gunners before running the length of the Etihad Stadium and performing a knee slide in front of his old fans. The away supporters went ballistic, but Adebayor seemed to revel in it.
Adebayor then spent time on loan at Real Madrid. He went on to join Tottenham, initially on loan before joining permanently. He enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance under the management of Tim Sherwood, before dropping down the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Togo international has since played for numerous clubs. He made 12 appearances for Crystal Palace, before spending two years at İstanbul Başakşehir.
He then graced the pitch eight times for fellow Turkish side Kayserispor. But it was his move to Paraguay that has sparked the most headlines in recent times.
Emmanuel Adebayor wins tribunal
The goalscorer joined Olimpia in the early portion of 2020. However, after making just four appearances, the pandemic hit and shut down world football.
But when the games resumed, Adebayor was sacked in June of the same year. The Togo international moved back to his home country at the beginning of the pandemic, and the club claimed Adebayor’s ‘health risk’ in returning to the country prompted his departure.
In a statement, the club said (as per Goal): “The pandemic situation, due to the Covid-19 virus puts the player at health risk to start his return to our country.
“With multiple flights, scales and quarantine measures, in addition to the high logistics cost and the economic situation the country is going through, which Olimpia does not escape, that forces us to make the best decision to protect the heritage of our institution and to guarantee relative economic stability to face the rest of the year and thus continue our victorious path.”
Adebayor took the matter to a tribunal. FIFA subsequently deemed Adebayor’s departure to be ‘unfair sacking’. They ordered Olimpia to pay a total of $510,000 (£420,000), plus 12% backdated to 2020.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
