Real Madrid have signed Manchester City striker Emmanuel
Adebayor on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a
permanent move.
The 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.