As Sky Sports News speaks with Emmanuel Adebayor in Togo, he seems to have found peace in retirement.
The former Arsenal and Tottenham striker hung up his boots in March this year, after a career which saw him win the African Footballer of the Year award in 2007 and 2008.
But although Arsenal are the club where Adebayor has played the most games and scored the most goals, it was his celebration against them for Manchester City in 2009 that is arguably his most recognized moment in association with the club.
And now that he has retired, the man whose nickname before joining Arsenal was ‘Baby Kanu’, asks Arsenal fans to forgive the incident and focus on the good times they shared .
Adebayor said: “I think the fans can forget what happened in 2009 when I ran the length of the pitch.
“Today I will be clear, I think no human being would accept people singing and insulting your family, especially your mother and father.
“I would do anything for my mom and dad.”
Adebayor was fined £25,000 and given a suspended two-match ban by the Football Association after running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans when he scored in the 80th minute.
“In reaching its decision, the committee took into account his admission of the accusations, his public apology and the extremely provocative nature of the abuse he suffered,” read an FA statement at the time.
“However, the committee also stated that players have a responsibility to behave appropriately and that such celebrations are unacceptable and have the potential to cause a serious public order incident.”
Adebayor said: “It’s behind me now, I hope it’s behind them. We all love football. And every now and then when they see this celebration on TV and on social media, I hope they can now laugh about it and move on.
“That’s what I wish for the Arsenal fans and I wish them the best of luck this year.”
So what does Adebayor think of the current Arsenal team?
Adebayor said: “Last season we all wanted them to win the championship and they came very close.
“When it happened around January and February, I was saying to all my friends, I hope these boys don’t start losing points. It was like that with me when I was playing for Arsenal.
“We would be first or second, then around February a player was injured or suspended and that’s it. The league is over. We had a great team but a young team, we needed a leader.
“So when I saw them start to drop points, even when Man City were several points behind, I said listen to me, I don’t know if there’s a curse on the club but it’s going to be difficult for them to win the league match.
“But let’s put it in perspective. Where they came from and what they did last year was incredible. They finished second and came so close to winning the championship.
“With Declan Rice, they bought good players. They actually invested to win the championship and go far in the Champions League.
“It’s my old club and I wish them good luck.”
Three of Adebayor’s former clubs sit top of the Premier League as the season marks an international break in Tottenham, Arsenal and Man City.
And Adebayor says he will indulge a bit in Man City’s treble last season.
“I’m so happy that Man City won the treble as one of my old teams. We started this project at the beginning, so for them to win the treble feels like I’m part of the project. C ‘is wonderful.”
As for Tottenham, with Adebayor no stranger to high-profile transfers, he says he understands why Harry Kane chose to join Bayern Munich this summer.
“Tottenham is a big club but I think it was the right time for him to leave. He needed a new challenge. He is someone who has scored 30-40 goals every season and has nothing won.
“I was lucky enough to win something with Real Madrid. I played in the Champions League final and I didn’t win it, I played in the FA Cup final and I didn’t win it. I didn’t win, I played in the final of the Coupe de France and I didn’t win it. win it.
“We are talking about Bayern Munich here. Bayern is a club that wants to win the Champions League every year.
“He’s already a legend in the Premier League. But as a legend you have to be able to talk about what you’ve won. If you look at the number of goals he’s scored, if you say this guy doesn’t didn’t win a trophy, you’d be surprised.
“I think he would have had regrets knowing that he had every chance of winning it all. If he scores 30 goals at Bayern, wins the Bundesliga and the Champions League, he could win the Ballon d’Or .
“It’s time for him to start chasing trophies.”