EXTRA TIME: Emmanuel Adebayor: Growing up with no roof to a street named after me

A street in Lome, Togo has been named after the country’s football legend Emmanuel Adebayor.

On Saturday, the Istanbul Basaksehir forward took to social media to express his gratitude.

“Growing up with nothing, I soon realised that football would be my way out of poverty. It was my passion, I did it to have fun. But that brought me to places I could never have imagined,” Adebayor wrote on Instagram.

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“One of the things that kept me on the right path was knowing that I was doing it for my country, Togo. I did it for my people. When I won the title of African footballer of the year in 2008, all I could think of was the little Sheyi Emmanuel Adébayor who grew up without any proper roof over his head.

“Then I thought about the songs my countrymen sang for me when I helped Togo to qualify for their first World Cup. I know that the Togolese people have supported me and they are grateful for my services to the nation but this one is too much, I could not believe it when I saw it.

“A street in Togo was named after me “Adebayor Street”. It’s not something small, History was made. Just as this sign will remain, I promise to keep you in my heart, forever. I’m really honored, thank you.”

SEA, en grandissant sans rien, j’ai vite compris que le football serait mon moyen de sortir de la pauvreté. C’était ma passion, je l’ai fait pour m’amuser. Mais cela m’a amené dans des endroits que je n’aurais jamais pu imaginer. Une des choses qui m’a permis de rester sur le droit chemin, c’est de savoir que je le faisais pour mon pays, le Togo. Je le faisais pour mon peuple. Lorsque j’ai remporté le titre de footballeur africain de l’année 2008, tout ce à quoi je pouvais penser était le petit Sheyi Emmanuel Adébayor qui a grandi sans aucun toit approprié sur sa tête. Ensuite, j’ai réfléchi aux chansons que mes compatriotes chantaient pour moi lorsque j’ai aidé le Togo à se qualifier pour sa première Coupe du monde. Je sais que le peuple Togolais m’a soutenu et est reconnaissant pour mes services à la nation. Mais celui-ci est trop, je ne pouvais pas le croire quand je l’ai vu. Une rue au Togo a été nommée après moi « RUE ADÉBAYOR ». Ce n’est pas quelque chose de petit, l’HISTOIRE a été faite. Tout comme ce signe restera, je promets de vous garder dans mon coeur, pour toujours. Je suis vraiment honoré, Merci ❤️❤️❤️🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬😍😍😍👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤗🤗🤗 🔹SEA, growing up with nothing, I quickly understood that football would be my way out of poverty. It was my passion, I did it for fun. But it has brought me places I could never have imagined. One thing that kept me going, was knowing I was doing it for my country, Togo. I was doing it for my people. When I won the African Footballer of the Year 2008, all I could think of was the small Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor that grew up with no proper roof over his head. Then I thought about the songs my country people sang for me when I helped qualified Togo for its first ever World Cup. I know the Togolese people have supported me and are thankful for my services to the Nation. But this one is too much, I could not believe it when I saw it. A street in Togo has been named after me “ADÉBAYOR STREET”. This is not something small guys, it’s HISTORY. Just like that sign will remain, I promise to keep you people in my heart, forever. I am truly honoured, Thank You. ❤️❤️❤️🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬😍😍😍👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤗🤗🤗 #GodFirst #RUEADEBAYOR

A post shared by The Real Adebayor (@e_adebayor) on May 11, 2019 at 5:02am PDT

Adebayor, a one-time African Footballer of the Year in 2008, has played 87 games for the Sparrowhawks with 32 goals to his credit since he made his international debut in 2000.

Following the country’s failure to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, Adebayor stated that he is considering his international future but it remains to be seen if the 35-year-old will make himself available for selection ahead of Togo’s next game.