ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR has suggested he would not be prepared to accept a pay cut to help his chances of a permanent transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. The Togo striker, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City, feels revitalised at White Hart Lane and he would like to stay but his wages represent a stumbling block.
He earns €196,000 a week, of which City contribute €115,000, and Adebayor pulled no punches about the importance of the money, a significant portion of which he channels back to Africa to fund community projects.
Tottenham’s weekly wage ceiling is around €81,000, although the midfielder Luka Modric hopes to drive it up to €115,000 in his continuing negotiations for a new contract.
“We all play football to get money,” Adebayor said. “I’m from Africa and I have to give something back to my community. You all know that I’ve been doing a lot of charity stuff without knocking at any door. I’m taking my own wages to do it and I will keep doing it until the end of my career. I will leave it [the talks about next season] to Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and Khaldoon [al-Mubarak], the chairman of Manchester City, to find a solution between themselves.”
Adebayor scored twice in Monday’s 2-0 home win over Aston Villa, which lifted Tottenham to third in the table and maintained their eye-catching form; they have taken 25 points from an available 27. The goals took Adebayor’s tally for the club to five in nine matches, all of them in the Premier League. Redknapp believes that it is “not impossible” that Tottenham will win the title, with his optimism fired by recent results.
But Adebayor is focused on the bottom line of Champions League qualification. “If I didn’t help the team to get into the top four, then I will have failed,” he said.
“Everybody had huge belief in me when I came here and I have to pay that back. The fans accept me because I am working hard for the team. If you are Tottenham fans, you will definitely love me because I am doing the job.”
Guardian Service
