Manchester City meet Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and one star who played for both teams reflected on how his time at City ended
Emmanuel Adebayor accused Manchester City of freezing him out of the squad upon returning from his loan spell at Real Madrid in 2011. The two clubs are set to meet in the return leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
The Togo international had written his name into City folklore shortly after joining from Arsenal. He infamously ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the opposition fans after scoring against the Gunners in 2009. However, Adebayor would only spend one-and-a-half seasons at the club.
He netted 14 goals in 31 appearances in the 2009/10 campaign but soon fell out of favour with City boss Roberto Mancini the following year. The striker was permitted to join Real Madrid on loan in January 2011 but was forced to return to his parent club that summer after a permanent move to Los Blancos failed to materialise.
It became clear that Adebayor was not part of Mancini's plans but the striker was vocal about the club's lack of communication. Adebayor claimed to have been informed he was not part of City's pre-season tour of the USA by the football director's secretary, rather than Mancini or another senior club official.
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"This is very hurtful and insulting and says a lot about Manchester City," Adebayor told The Sun. "On the one hand they want to become the biggest, most successful club in the world, yet the people who run the club are not acting in that way at all.
"No one at City is man enough to speak to me face-to-face to explain. I just received an email from Brian Marwood's secretary telling me to report for training on July 9.
"But when I spoke to the other players, I found out the first team was leaving for the pre-season tour of the US on July 8. So it's clear they don't want me here but no one even called.
"Brian Marwood just got his secretary to send me an email. And I heard this was the same with at least six other players."
Adebayor's team-mate Craig Bellamy also voiced criticism of City during the same summer transfer window. Meanwhile, Mancini had previously commented on Adebayor's future after the City loanee netted twice for Real Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final.
"I am happy for him that he is scoring goals and I hope he can continue to score," the City boss said in April 2011. "At the end of the season we will see. If he wants to stay, he can. I am happy for Manu because he is a good player."
Despite seemingly leaving the door ajar, Adebayor, who scored eight in 22 matches during his spell in Madrid, did not return to Mancini's squad. Instead, he joined Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan.
The forward thrived under Harry Redknapp, bagging 18 goals across all competitions, and subsequently secured a £5million switch to Spurs in 2012. The move came more than 18 months after Adebayor's final outing for City.