Emmanuel Adebayor has signed for Olimpia as the Paraguayan side announced the former Arsenal striker’s arrival on Tuesday.
Olimpia currently sits fifth in the early stages of their Apertura campaign, and President Marco Trovato promised to make a big splash by signing the veteran striker if the club signed up an additional 20,000 members over the weekend.
Adebayor was without a club, with the 35-year-old recently becoming a free agent having ended a brief spell with Turkish side Kayserispor in December.
And the forward’s latest move is most certainly his most surprising yet as he heads to the Paraguayan top flight after previously featuring in England, Spain, France and Turkey throughout his career.
The move does include one familiar face, though, as it does reunite Adebayor with former Manchester City team-mate Roque Santa Cruz, who joined the club in 2016 and has helped lead Olimpia to titles in the 2018 Apertura, 2018 Clausura and 2019 Apertura.
Both Adebayor and Santa Cruz joined Manchester City in 2009, but neither forward was able to truly make their mark with the club.
Adebayor’s most prominent days came with Arsenal, with the forward playing over 100 Premier League matches for the club.
His time with Manchester City included loans to Real Madrid and Tottenham before heading to Spurs permanently.
Later in his career, Adebayor has represented Crystal Palace, Istanbul BB and Kayserispor, with the forward scoring two goals in eight appearances during his brief stay with the latter.
Olimpia is Adebayor’s 10th professional club since leaving his native Togo in 2001 to head to France, where he featured for Metz and Monaco before sealing his big move to Arsenal.
Adebayor, though, has not been able to amass much silverware throughout his career, with the forward’s only major honour the 2010-11 Copa del Rey, won during his time with Madrid.
He has amassed the most caps and goals for his native Togo, having featured 87 times while scoring 32 goals for his country.
Adebayor is set to be presented to the club’s supporters this week as they look ahead to a match against 12 de Octubre at the weekend.
Source: myjoyonline