Adebayor Sale Hits Trouble
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 by Stuart Stratford
Emmanuel Adebayor’s future was thrown into the air yesterday as AC Milan pulled out of the race to sign the Togolese international. Adriano Galliani said,
Adebayor is overridden by continuous requests for €45 million; these figures are impossible for clubs in Italy
That figure is impossibly high and suggests that Galliani has been reading too many press stories. A suggestion is that he tries about €10m lower and he may get some response from Arsenal. Meanwhile reports are emerging that Barcelona have been snubbed in their attempts to sign the player with a bid of £25m being rejected by Arsenal.
Sensing that the winds of change may not be blowing in his client’s direction, Adebayor’s agent Stephane Courbis has been on a charm offensive, replacing his client’s offensive charm. Courbis said,
There has been a love story between Adebayor and Arsenal, and his relationship with Arsene Wenger is based on trust and respect. If this was a money problem, then he would have asked to leave. I know that Arsenal’s political position is that they don’t pay high salaries. Whatever they decide, the decision will be taken with respect
Respect is the new byword in football, UEFA demand it, FIFA demand it and so too do supporters. Adebayor and his representatives have shown scant respect or regard for the Arsenal fans in recent days and there is a growing discontentment that he may remain at the club. Most would be happy to take the £25m that Barcelona have offered and see the player depart to the Camp Nou.
Even then that is not so straightforward. Joan Laporta has elections on July 6th which may well see him lose his position as President. If that were to happen, the deal may be thrown into doubt. In any case, with summer spending that has already reached €80m, the Blaugrana need to sell before they can buy.
Deco has gone and AC Milan are keen on Ronaldinho which leaves Samuel Eto’o as the main source of income to fund purchases. Adebayor would clean a substantial amount of that money and Arshavin or Hleb the remainder. Whether a new President would sanction more spending remains to be seen.
Tags: AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Football, La Liga, premier league, Serie A, Soccer, Transfer Gossip
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