Emmanuel Adebayor’s strange retirement video on Instagram

HIT-AND-MISS striker Emmanuel Adebayor – the forward who struggled to make the most of his attacking ability – has announced he is retiring from football at the age of 39.

Fans may not have realised that the former Arsenal striker had not already hung up his boots, but he was still turning out for AC Semassi in Togo.

He released a strange retirement video on Instagram in which he sits at a desk apparently contemplating his career. The main goal he chooses to illustrate his success is the one scored for Manchester City against the Gunners after his acrimonious departure from the Emirates Stadium. He famously ran the length of the field like a mad march hare to celebrate in front of the Arenal fans.

Today, supporters joked Arsenal were still living ‘rent free’ in his head due to its inclusion in his bizarre career sign off.

Adebayor’s time up front for Arsenal marked a frustrating late-Wenger period for Arsenal, during which he had the unenviable task of trying to match Thierry Henry’s heroics in red and white. He played more than 100 games for Arsenal after being brought in from Monaco, but decided to leave for Manchester City in 2009 as his suitors began to splash around enormous amounts of cash on new  players.

City quickly discovered that Adebayor was unlikely to power a title charge and he only played 34 matches for them before being pushed out on loan at Real Madrid and then Spurs, sealing his reputation as a player who had betrayed the Gunners.

Again, it did not really work out for the striker at Tottenham – there were no winners’ medals – and after a brief and unproductive spell at Crystal Palace, he headed off to the Turkish league. He played two games in the Paraguayan league for Olimpia as demands for his services continued to drop.