I wasn’t drinking and smoking during talks with Lyon

Emmanuel Adebayor has released a statement regarding recent reports on why he didn’t sign for Lyon. According to Lyon’s manager, Bruno Genesio, Adebayor drank and smoked during talks regarding a move to France.

The claims, attributed by some outlets to Lyon said the 32-year-old, smoked and asked for a shot of whisky and laid down several bizarre demands as he discussed a transfer to Ligue 1 with Lyon’s coach Bruno Genesio last week.

The website in question, a spoof named Football France, made the claims on Thursday suggesting that Adebayor had wanted including providing a private helicopter to take him to training, wanted chef Joel Robuchon hiring as his personal cook and asked for a villa with a swimming pool that “has a view of Corsica”.

And Adebayor, who is still without a club after Lyon opted to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Championnat National side Chateauroux instead, was keen to put the record straight.

In a statement, he said: “Usually I do not comment on any transfer negotiations or speculation but this time certain matters need to be cleared up.

“Lyon wanted to sign me and offered to pay for a private jet from Togo to bring me to Lyon in order for me to sign ahead of their game against Marseille. The contract was all agreed and I was merely flying in to complete a medical and sign the paperwork.

“Unfortunately, I could not get there in time to be registered for their game and they signed another young striker instead. They still asked if I could come and speak to the manager and director of football in order to establish if it would be possible to sign us both.

“We all had a perfectly amicable meeting in Lyon but the coach felt it was not fair on the young player’s development to sign us both and I felt I would not get the requisite game time I needed to make this opportunity worthwhile.

“For the avoidance of doubt I only drank water at this meeting and did not ask for whisky or have a cigarette. This was a report that came out of a French newspaper and is not only ludicrous and ridiculous but was meant as a joke by the journalist. The statements have been retracted and the journalist is currently drafting an apology. Unfortunately the press in other countries couldn’t see that the journalist was being highly sarcastic and rewrote the story…

“Unfortunately the press in other countries couldn’t see that the journalist was being highly sarcastic and rewrote the story.”
“The above facts can be supported by the Lyon manager, director of Football and president. I wish Olympique Lyonnais all the best of luck for the forthcoming season,” he added.