In 2015, Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor surprised many with some startling revelations about the nature of his relationship with his family.
The former Monaco player, who has also played for Arsenal and Real Madrid, revealed his unhappiness. His mother and older brother were also named. We let you (re) discover his astonishing comments.
If I’ve decided to release episode 3 today, it’s because my brother Kola Adebayor and the other members of my family have chosen to talk about our family stories on social networks, through letters to my clubs and radios.
Here’s the day Adebayor spilled the beans about his family
I could write an autobiography and sell it, but I’ve decided to share it all with you here.
25 years ago, my older brother Kola left the country for Germany and became our family’s hope. We thought he was going to put us out of our misery.
Several years later, we still had no electricity; we had no telephone.
If he needed to talk to us, he would call the Atlantic Hotel, which was very close to our house. We had to run to the hotel reception to get the call.
When I got my first opportunity to play in France, we needed money for airfare and other expenses. My brother was never present during these times. Only God knows what he was doing in Germany.”
“When I arrived in France, I signed all the necessary documents with my team and they housed me in the academy.
A few months later, my brother wanted to come and visit me. I had no money and was still living at the academy.
So I had to borrow money to pay for his hotel and his return trip to Germany.
Don’t forget, he’s my big brother. A few years later, things were starting to look up.
Thank God I signed a contract with Metz. From that day on, he would call me every time it was time to pay those bills. Sometimes it was his son who was ill. I had to get used to all this.”
“Once again, I was lucky to sign a new contract for Monaco. So I moved from Metz to Monaco.
One day, Kola and the late Peter Adebayor came to see me in Monaco, unannounced. Someone said: “Blood is thicker than water”.
So I welcomed them. They arrived very early in the morning and I was on my way to training.
As soon as I got home, we had a chat and they made it clear that they wanted to open a car sales business. Clearly, a large sum of money was involved. So I promised to settle it as soon as I got my next salary.”
“At the same time, a young Cameroonian (Thierry Mangwa) was living with me. He was having personal problems and needed a place to sleep, so I put him up at my place for a few days.
One day when I came home from training he was crying. He never told me why. My brothers, who were visiting, couldn’t explain it to me. Another day, one of my Togolese friends (Padjoe) came to visit me.
When he left, I offered him about €500. My brother Kola noticed this and was very upset.
He asked me why I’d given my friend money so quickly when he hadn’t. My reason is simple: my brother Kola needed a large sum of money that I didn’t keep at home. My reason was simple: my brother Kola needed a large sum of money that I didn’t keep at home. It ended up in a long argument.”
“Another day after training, I was very tired and went for a nap. I woke up and there was a knife to my throat.
When I opened my eyes, my two brothers were there. They were shouting and saying I was wasting their time. Peter was getting very angry and Kola was putting up with it.
I told them, “If this is the only way to solve this problem… kill me and take the money!” That’s when they put the knife on the table. After all this I found a way out of my own apartment and called my parents. My mother suggested I call the police.
It was my only option to get back home safely…Plus I had training the next day. So I took my mother’s advice.
The police came and they calmed down. Again, “blood is thicker than water”, so I let it go. A few days later, Peter went to Paris to visit one of Kola’s friends.
This meant that I was left alone with Kola at home. For my own safety, I managed to find money for her as quickly as possible. Only God knows how much I’ve given her.”
“After all this, I went on vacation to Togo and was surprised when my mother asked me why I called the police on my own brothers.
As you well know, it was she herself who suggested this option.
She went on to say that I was the wrong person in the family.
That’s a story I’ll leave for now. Every time I visited the country, everyone asked why Kola never returned.
I immediately organized a flight for him to come and visit the family.
On April 22, 2005, we received some bad news. I received a call saying that my father had passed away. I was devastated.
I called my big brother and told him we all had to be in the country together. I made sure a plane ticket was ready for him.
We all came home and I took care of everything. Several months before my father died, I was at the hospital to pay him a visit, and he told me to make sure that his funeral would not be a time of sadness.
He wanted us to celebrate his life. I’ll let God decide if I gave my father a dignified funeral. The guy who calls himself “the big one in the family” didn’t contribute to anything. But he still has the audacity to say that I do nothing for the family.
In 2006, I had a great opportunity to play for Arsenal. Since then, my brother has started a series of false accusations against me.”
“On July 22, 2013, yet another piece of sad news hit our family. My brother Peter Adebayor passed away.
His death was really sad and it affected me. One thing I find hard to take in today is that Kola openly blames me for Peter’s death.
He says the store I helped Peter open was no good. He keeps sending me messages saying my career will be destroyed.
I did everything for Peter when he was alive, I took him to Metz and Monaco with me. What can Kola say he did for Peter? He hasn’t. The guy didn’t even show up for the funeral, even though I sent him money for his trip.
He says I made our mother suffer too, but he forgets that when he left for Germany, I was the person at mom’s side. When I started to succeed in soccer, I did everything you can imagine for my mother.
That’s normal. But my brother is never satisfied. He says I bought Mom a crappy car. Why doesn’t he buy something better? All I want is to see him take responsibility.
Since I’m not doing it right, he should be setting an example for me as “the big brother”. He’s been in Germany for over 20 years, but he’s never invited our mother. For him to even come back home is quite a challenge.”
“All he repeats is that my father had said I should build each of them a house.
I don’t think my father said that. Is that even reasonable? As an older brother, he’s supposed to be doing everything I’m doing. He should stop hiding and take responsibility.
By the time he came to Europe, he was young enough to have a career in soccer too. Anyway, there are drivers here who manage to help their families.
Why hasn’t he done anything like that, but he keeps talking? Besides, he should bring Rotimi, Bidemi or even his own son Aziz here before talking about “taking care of the family”. Actions are stronger than speeches.”
“Many say I didn’t go to school, but they forget to say it’s because we didn’t have the means.
But I never blamed my parents for that. But thank God, today I speak more than 3 languages and I can send my daughter to school. I’m proud of that.
People may accuse me of not going to school, but in the end it’s who you become and what you learn in life that counts. Many times, I wanted to give up.
Ask my sister Iyabo Adebayor how many times I called her and was ready to commit suicide?
I’ve kept these things for over 11 years… But if I die, no one will know my story, no one will learn the lesson… Some people say I should keep these stories, but someone has to sacrifice; someone has to talk about them.
I know some people will relate to their own stories and others will learn the lessons. To all who know me, I would do anything for my country and my people.
Final message from a little brother to an older brother: stop smoking and stop drinking. That’s my story.
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