Ex-Real Madrid and Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor has confirmed he’s adopted the son of his late brother, renaming his Junior Emmanuel Adebayor.

The 33-year-old, who has also played for London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, announced the news on Instagram, where he’s pictured eating with the young boy.

SEA, whoever knows me knows my elder brother, Peter Adebayor who is no longer with us. Here is his son and today I declare him as my first son. Let me introduce you to my first son. His name is Junior Emmanuel Adebayor. Blessings…🙏🏾 🔹 Tous ceux qui me connaissent connaissent bien mon frère, Peter Adébayor qui n’est malheureusement plus avec nous. Voici son fils et aujourd’hui je le prends comme mon premier fils. Je vous présente alors mon premier fils. Il s’appelle Junior Emmanuel Adebayor. Pleins de bénédictions… 🙏🏾 #GodFirst #KeepMoving #BloodLine #Focus #FunTime #GodIsGood #LifesGood

A post shared by The Real Adebayor (@e_adebayor) on Dec 30, 2017 at 12:48am PST

“Whoever knows me knows my elder brother, Peter Adebayor who is no longer with us. Here is his son and today I declare him as my first son. Let me introduce you to my first son. His name is Junior Emmanuel Adebayor. Blessings,” he said.

Adebayor lost his brother Peter in 2013, meaning his son needed looking after. And the Istanbul Basaksehir striker has enjoyed a successful football career so he should be able to promise a good quality of life.

The Togo international does have a child of his own, a seven-year-old daughter called Kendra, but now his immediate family has grown by one. Adebayor previously had a strained relationship with his brother, having previously accused him of demanding money and false claims about the family.

It became so bad that the striker revealed he was almost driven to suicide, while another brother, Kola, had accused Emmanuel of causing Peter’s death.

“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,” the nomadic striker added.

“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.”

Adebayor has found his feet again after a troubled last few years in football. He’s scored nine goals in 20 games for Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir, who are currently top of the table.

Capping the season off with silverware would be a welcome change from the misery Adebayor has had to endure in recent years.