Former English Premier League star and Togo footballer, Emmanuel Adebayor continues to struggle in his attempt to find a new football club.
The striker has scored 98 career Premier League goals, yet at 32-years old, was unable to secure a move to a new team at the end of the summer. Now as the top leagues across Europe are in the early stages of the season, Adebayor looks unlikely to find a top club – until at least – January.
Things were nearly different for Adebayor for the 2016-17 European football season, however. The striker, who played seven times last year with Crystal Palace, was on the verge of signing for French side Lyon. This was after a deal to Championship side Fulham collapsed.
In September, Adebayor met with Lyon manager Bruno Genesio. The two parties discussed a possible move to Lyon, but ultimately the deal fell through. The French team cited that they didn’t want to release the Togo international for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
However, that seems to be only one of the reasons Lyon decided against signing the former Arsenal star. Reports in France, cited by English journalists and newspapers, stated that Adebayor made several eccentric requests during their meeting.
The striker wanted the club to provide a private helicopter that would take him to training. He also wanted Lyon to hire celebrity chef Joel Robuchon to cook for him. Adebayor also requested a villa complete with a swimming pool view of Corsica. However, it seems to have got more bizarre.
According to a quote from France Football credited to Genesio, Lyon were on the verge of signing the striker. However, the manager was put off the move after Adebayor arrived with a cigarette in his mouth. He also asked for a shot of whiskey in his coffee.
The striker has since denied the stories that were reported throughout Europe.

For much of his professional career, the Togo striker, has been embroiled in a family feud. In fact, Adebayor stated his family in-fighting nearly “led to him committing suicide”.
In 2015, Adebayor published a Facebook post addressing the arguments he had with his siblings. In his posts at the time, Adebayor stated his brother, Rotimi, stole 21 mobile phones. The phones came from a “leading” French football academy.
In his posts, the striker also outlined other problems he had with his family, including his mother denying him the opportunity to see his dying brother.
With the reports of smoking and drinking during his meeting with Genesio in September still fresh in the public’s eye, Adebayor may have seen his career at the top ended. At 32, age is also against the Togo hitman.
If this is the end at the top of European club football for Adebayor, the striker can look back at a career that saw him excel in France, England and Spain. Unfortunately, many will see Adebayor’s career as one that rose quickly, but was not sustained following his departure of Arsenal for Manchester City.