My brother stole 21 phones in one month –Adebayor

Former African Footballer of the Year Emmanuel Adebayor has launched an astonishing attack on his family, in which the Tottenham Hotspur striker accuses them of turning their backs on him, renting out property he paid for without his knowledge. In the case of his brother Rotimi, Adebayor accused him stealing mobile telephones while at a football academy in France.

In a lengthy Facebook post, the Togo international Adebayor talked about the financial burden of supporting his family but his reasons for bringing the issues light were an effort for other families to “learn from what happened in mine”, adding “keep in mind that none of this is about money.”

In the post, he has claimed he was prevented from seeing his now-deceased brother Peter who was seriously ill and was told by his mother to “just give money”. He also says that, after a 2005 meeting to resolve their family’s problems, he was told to build each member a house and to pay them a monthly wage.

“I was in Ghana when I received the news about my brother Peter being seriously ill,” Adebayor claimed. “I drove the fastest I could to Togo in order to meet him and help. When I arrived, my mother said I could not see him and I should just give the money and she would solve everything. Only God knows how much I gave her that day.

“I organised a meeting in 2005 to solve our family issues. When I asked them about their opinion, they said I should build each family member a house and give each of them a monthly wage.”

Adebayor, who played for Metz and Monaco before moving to the Premier League with first Arsenal in 2006, then on to Manchester City and Tottenham, said of his brother Rotimi, “When I was in Monaco I thought it would be good to have a family of footballers. So I made sure my brother Rotimi gets into a football academy in France. Within a few months; out of 27 players, he stole 21 phones.”

He has also claimed that his sister rented out a house he bought in Ghana for her to stay in without his permission. “A couple years ago, I bought a house in East Lagon (Ghana) for $1.2m,” claimed Adebayor. “I found it normal to let my older sister, Yabo Adebayor stay in that house. I also allowed my half brother (Daniel) to stay in the same house.

A few months later, I was on vacation and decided to go to that house. At my surprise, I saw many cars in the driveway. In fact, my sister decided to rent out the house without me knowing.

“When I called her and asked for explanation, she took about 30 minutes to abuse and insult me over the phone. I called my mother to explain the situation and she did the same as my sister. This same sister says I am ungrateful.”

Last November, Adebayor denied stories he had kicked his mother out of his house in Togo and accused people of practising witchcraft against him. He has now claimed she has turned her back on him, despite using his face in order to promote a cookie business.

“At the age of 17, with my first wages as a footballer, I built a house for my family and made sure they are safe,” he wrote. “As you all know, I have received the trophy of African Player of the Year in 2008. I also brought my mother on stage with me to thank her for everything. In that same year, I brought her to London for various medical checkups. When my daughter was born, we contacted my mum to inform her but she immediately hung up the phone and didn’t wanna know hear about it.

“Apart from all that l also gave my mother a great amount of money to start a business of cookies and different items. Naturally, I allowed them to put my name and picture on them so they can sell more. What else can a son do in his power to support his family?”