Togolese Footballer Emmanuel Adebayor has released another
bombshell about his family, he shares a story of his elder brother Kola Adebayor whom he feels would have become
a football star in Germany.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker took to social media (his
official facebook page) to share the story and also said he would have
committed suicide.
He writes....
If I decide to
bring out the Part 3 today, it is because my brother @Kola Adebayor and my
other siblings have decided to talk about our family issues on social medias,
through letters to my club, radios…I could write an autobiography and sell it
but I decided to share with you here.
25 years ago, my
big older brother Kola went to Germany and he became the hope of our family. We
all thought he could change the way we were living. Years after he left Togo,
we still had no electricity and no phones. If he wanted to talk to us, he would
call the Atlantic Hotel that was very close to our house. We would then run to
the hotel reception and talk to him.
When I got the
opportunity to go play football in France for the first time, we needed money
to for the flight tickets and other expenses. My brother was nowhere to be
found. Only God knows what he was doing in Germany.
When I arrived in
France, I did all the paperwork with my team and they allowed me to stay in the
academy. A few months later, my brother wanted to come visit me. I was running
out of money and I was living at the academy. Therefore, I had to borrow money
so I could pay for his hotel. At that time, my teammate Sega N’diaye from
Cameroon was kind enough to lend me some money. I also had to borrow some more
money because I had to give my brother some money for his trip back to Germany.
Keep in mind he is my older brother.
A couple years
later, things started to get better. Thank God, I signed a contract with Metz.
Since then, my brother would contact me whenever it was time to pay his bills.
Sometimes, he would say his son is sick… I had to get used to all this.
Again, I was lucky
enough to get an offer from Monaco and I signed for the football club. One day,
Kola and the late Peter Adebayor came to visit me in Monaco. My two brothers
did not let me know they were coming. Someone said “blood is thicker than
water” so I took them in. They arrived early in the morning and I was on my way
to training. When I came back home, we had a discussion and they wanted to
start a car business. Obviously, it involves a lot of money. I told them that I
could help them out as soon as I get paid next.
At that time,
Thierry Mangwa was staying in my apartment because he was struggling with some
personal issues and needed a place to stay. One day, I came back from training
and he was crying. He never told me why. My brothers could also not explain.
Another day, one of my friends Padjoe came to visit me and as he was leaving
the house, I believe I offered him about €500. My brother Kola noticed that and
was very upset. He was trying to understand why I gave my friend some money
right away but not him. My reason was very simple; the money he (Kola) needed
was a huge amount of money that I did not carry in my house. We went on and had
an argument about it.
Another day, after
training…I was very tired and decided to go take a nap. I woke up and a knife
was held to my throat. As I opened my eyes, both of my brothers were there.
They were shouting and they claimed that I was wasting their time. Peter was
going mad and Kola was supporting. I asked them: “Is this the only way to solve
this issue? I yes, then kill me and take the money”. It’s only at that moment
that he put the knife down. After all this, I found a way out of my own
apartment and I called my parents. My mom suggested that I call the police.
That was the only way for me to get back into my house safely… I had training
the next day, by the way. So I did what my mom said. Police came and they
settled down. Again, “blood is thicker than water”, so I let it go. A few days
after, Peter went to visit one of Kola’s friends in Paris. That means I was
left in the house with Kola; for my own safety, I found a way to get him the
money as soon as I could. Only God knows how much I gave him that day.
A few months after
all this, I went back to Togo and I was surprised when my mom started to ask me
why I called the police on my brothers, she continued and said I am the bad
person in the family. That is another story I will leave for later…
Every time I went
back home, everyone kept asking me why my brother never visited after all these
years. Immediately, I organized a flight for him and he came back to visit the
family, at my own expenses.
On April 22nd
2005, we received some bad news. I received a call and they announced that my
father passed away. I was devastated. I called my big brother and told him that
we all have to be there. Again I made sure there was a flight ticket ready for
him. We all went back home and I took care of everything. A long time before my
dad died, he was in the hospital one day and he asked me to make sure his
funeral is not a moment of sadness. He wanted us to celebrate his life. I leave
it to God to decide if the funeral I organized for my dad was what he wanted.
The man who calls himself the “big man” in the family did not contribute to
anything. But he still has the boldness to say I do not take care of this
family.
In 2006, I had
another big opportunity to go play for Arsenal. Since then, my brother has
started to come up with series of false accusations against me.
On July 22nd, 2013
sad news hit us in the family. My brother Peter Adebayor passed away. His death
was sad and I was affected by it. One thing I find difficult to swallow today
is that Kola was accusing me of Peter’s death. He is saying that the shop I
opened for Peter was not good enough. He kept texting saying that my career
would be destroyed. I did everything for Peter when he was alive, I brought him
to Metz, and Monaco with me. What can Kola say that he has done for Peter?
Nothing. The man did not even show up at the funeral even after all the money I
sent for the trip back home.
He is saying that
I also made my mom suffer, but he forgot that when he was in Germany, at some
point I was the one always by my mom’s side. As soon as I started to make a
living with football, I did everything you could imagine for our mom. That is
normal. But my brother is never satisfied. He said I bought a shitty car for my
mom.
Why can’t he buy a
better one? All I want from him is to take his responsibilities. Since I am not
doing it right, he should show the example as a big brother. He has been in
Germany for more than 20 years, but he never brought our mother there to visit.
Even to go back home for a visit is another struggle. All he keeps saying is that
my father said I should build a house for each one of them. I don’t think my
father said that. Does that even make sense for him or anyone? As a big
brother, he is supposed to be doing all that I am doing for the family. He
should stop hiding and take his responsibilities. When he came to Europe, he
was young enough to become a football player too. Anyways, some people are
drivers here but they are able to take care of their families. They even bring
their parents and other family members. Why has he not done anything like that
but he keeps talking? As a matter fact, he should at least bring Rotimi, Bidemi
or his own son Aziz here before talking about “taking care of the family”.
Actions are louder than speeches.
A lot of people
are saying that I never went to school, but they forget that it is because we
could not afford it. I never blamed my parents for that. But thank God, today I
am able to speak more than 3 languages and I can send my daughter to school. I
am proud of that. People can accuse me for not going to school, but in the end
it is all about who you become and what you teach yourself. It is also about
what life teaches you and what you learn from it.
Many times I
wanted to give up. Ask my sister Iyabo Adebayor how many times I have called
and was ready to commit suicide? I kept these stories for years… But If I die,
no one would know my story, no one would learn from it… Some people say I
should keep these stories private, but someone has to sacrifice himself;
someone has to talk about it. I know people would relate to my story and others
would learn from it. For every one who knows me, I’d do anything for my country
and my people.
Final message from
the younger brother to the older brother: Quit Smoking and Quit Drinking. That
was my story.
