Trying to understand Emmanuel Adebayor would be one of the most difficult tasks any human being has had to attempt.
Many managers have tried, many have failed. Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Roberto Mancini and Andre Villas-Boas have all tried. All have failed. He is undoubtedly a good footballer as 96 Premier League goals would attest.
However, he seems a mischievous character and has fallen out with every top manager he has worked with. Aside from that, he has had the fans of nearly every club turn against him. This is mainly due to his fall-outs with the managers, but many a fan feel that for the wages he earns, his output on the pitch does not justify them. He has been called a “lazy, useless mercenary” and while his performances have not been great, you have to look at Adebayor’s personal life to find out why he may not regularly produce the level of football that his talent allows for.
Adebayor has a tough personal life. He was on the Togo bus which was attacked on its way to the African Cup of Nations in 2010. Speaking about the incident last year, he said: “When you’ve had a brother died in your arms, 30,000 booing you does not affect you”.
He was speaking during a period where he was facing criticism from Spurs fans and subsequently being banished to the reserves by Villas-Boas. The Togo incident really affected him, as it would affect any human being. He had to see a psychiatrist at Manchester City – his club at the time – and retired from international football with Togo. There was suggestions that he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but that was never officially confirmed.
As if dealing with that was not bad enough, he has had to work through some complex family issues. Adebayor claimed in November 2014 that his family was working ‘juju’ on him.
“How am I going to be in touch with my mum if my mum is the one telling everyone that my work will not go forward, so I will just be on my side and do my thing,” Adebayor said.
“They should stop talking, they should stop doing Juju on me, they should leave me alone.”
How can anyone, no matter how much they are being paid, be expected to perform at optimum levels if they think that their family is working witchcraft on them? He was ridiculed when he made the claim.
Witchcraft is not common in England, so many people do not believe in it. But in Africa it is common and therefore Adebayor can not be ridiculed for believing it. His performances at Spurs had dipped in the weeks leading up to the ‘juju’ claim which could be a coincidence or an indicator that it affected him.
If that claim was extraordinary, Adebayor’s Facebook post was remarkable. Adebayor posted an 877-word statement in which he claimed the following:
- When his daughter was born, he called his mum to give her the news but she hung up the phone, not wanting to hear anything about it. This was the same year in which he took her on stage with him to collect his African footballer of the year award.
- He paid for his mother to receive a week of treatment from a highly qualified doctor in Nigeria and two days into the week, he received a call saying she left.
- He bought a house for his family for $1.2 million. He allowed his sister to look after the house but she rented it out without his permission and kicked his brother out of it. When he called for an explanation, his sister abused him for 30 minutes over the phone. He received the same treatment when he called his mother to explain.
- His brother lives in Germany with his children, whose education is paid for by Adebayor. He also gave his brother money to start a business which he never started. This same brother tells people that Adebayor was responsible for their brother Peter’s death.
- He got his brother Rotimi into a Football Academy in France and he was let go after a few months for stealing 21 mobile phones from 27 teammates.
- In 2005, Adebayor called a family meeting to clear up their issues. When he asked for their opinions, they said that he should build each family member a house and give them a monthly wage.
- His family members have already shared up his belongings even though he is still alive.
- And finally, his family members discouraged him from giving his money to the less fortunate in Africa.
Being on a bus that was attacked by gunmen, having a brother-like figure dying in his arms, the belief that his family is working witchcraft on him and having that same family leech off of him for more than 10 years.
Having been a critic of Adebayor in the past, it is now easy to sympathise with him. Money solves a lot of problems but it also causes a lot of them. Adebayor is a footballer, who, for the first four years of his life, could not walk.He is now doing what he loves and what he has the talent for and it is a crying shame that he is not allowed to enjoy it because of personal issues that, no matter who you are, will affect your performance on and off the pitch.
Adebayor will most likely be remembered as a nearly man. A player who could have been up there with Didier Drogba in terms of career goals, and career achievements. What will not be remembered is the off-field problems, the family issues that he cannot ignore, the mental strain of your best intentions not being good enough for your own family.
What Emmanuel Adebayor is, is a victim of his own success.
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