Claim: Emmanuel Adebayor played soccer.

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor -LRB- -LSB- ɛmanɥɛl adəbɛjɔʁ -RSB- ; born 26 February 1984 -RRB- is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir . He previously played for English clubs Arsenal , Manchester City , Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace , as well as French sides Metz and Monaco and Spanish team Real Madrid . He was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008 .   Adebayor represented the Togo national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany , the country 's debut , and to date only , appearance at the World Cup . In January 2010 , Adebayor was one of the players involved when the Togo team 's bus came under gunfire on the way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola , after which he retired from national team duty . In 2013 , he returned to the Togo team for the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa , where he helped them to qualify for the quarter-finals . He is currently Togo 's all-time top goalscorer with 31 goals .