Emmanuel Adebayor’s mysterious last-minute U-turn: The dream that changed his career path
Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togo international and ex-Arsenal player, reportedly abandoned a planned move to Aston Villa in 2015 because of an unsettling dream.
The nearly sealed deal
Aston Villa had been eyeing Adebayor as a potential replacement for the outbound Christian Benteke.
Everything appeared to be proceeding as expected. A medical was completed, and Adebayor even posed for promotional photographs, donning the Aston Villa jersey.
A dream changes the course
However, fate, or rather a ‘higher power’ as Adebayor claimed, had different plans.
Astonishingly, a dream altered his career trajectory.
The striker had seen enough in his slumber to halt the signing process, much to the astonishment of everyone involved.
Micah Richards’ recollection
Micah Richards, a former Aston Villa defender, recounted the peculiar situation while speaking on The Rest is Football podcast.
According to Richards, Adebayor was convinced that his dream was a sign from a ‘higher power,’ warning him against moving to Aston Villa.
The next day, he was nowhere to be seen, much to the bewilderment of the club’s management.
“There’s a story at Aston Villa. When we got rid of (Christian) Benteke – he was always going to go, he was on fire at the time – we got Adebayor,” Richards said.
“He came, he did his medical. All-but signed the papers. There’s even a picture of him with the shirt.
“The reason why he didn’t sign that day – so he’d done a picture with the shirt and was going to sign in the morning – he had a dream that night that he was making the wrong decision.
“This is no nonsense! He had a dream that the higher power or someone told him it was the wrong move to come to Aston Villa, so he didn’t turn up the next day.”
What followed for Adebayor
After turning down Aston Villa, Adebayor was released by Tottenham the following month.
He would later join Crystal Palace on a free transfer in January 2016 but left after just six months.
Adebayor has since retired, after stints with clubs like İstanbul Basaksehir, Kayserispor, Olimpia, and Semassi.
The impact and legacy
The story serves as a cautionary tale in the volatile world of football transfers. Decisions can be made or broken in the most unexpected ways, even when all contractual formalities appear to be in place.