Adebayor secures Madrid switch (On Loan)
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Real Madrid have signed Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent move.
Emmanuel Adebayor has had restricted opportunities at Manchester CityThe Spanish club announced on their website they had reached an agreement with "a unilateral option'' to complete the purchase of Adebayor, for a fee reported to be in the region of £18 million, in the summer.
Their statement read: "Real Madrid CF and Manchester City FC have reached a deal that will see Emmanuel Adebayor play on loan for the former club. The player will remain at Real Madrid until the end of the current season, at which point the club hold a unilateral option to purchase the player.''
Adebayor, 26, joined City from Arsenal in a £25 million deal just 18 months ago, scoring in his first four games for City, but the Togo international's star faded after Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager.
The arrival of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan in the summer shunted Adebayor further down the pecking order and the arrival of Edin Dzeko earlier this month effectively pushed him out of the door.
Monaco expressed a firm interest but were unable to come up with the necessary finance, leaving the way clear for Real, once Jose Mourinho overcame some reservations amongst the Bernabeu hierarchy over his desire to bring Adebayor - who would be available for the Champions League - in as cover for Gonzalo Higuain, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a back injury.
The move is the second high-profile striking departure from Eastlands in the past six months following Robinho's move to AC Milan.
Undoubtedly, the high point of Adebayor's time at City - during which time he scored 19 goals in 43 games - was his first appearance against Arsenal last September when he raced the length of the field to celebrate in front of the Gunners supporters after scoring City's third goal.
However, that day saw the best and worst of Adebayor's character as he incurred a three-match ban for raking his studs down the side of Robin van Persie's face.
As the Real Madrid loan is specifically to cover Higuain's absence, it is debatable whether a permanent transfer will follow but it would appear highly unlikely Adebayor will appear for the Blues again.