Adebayor: Former Arsenal star hails Olimpia Asuncion fans as one of the best

Emmanuel Adebayor has explained his decision to join Paraguayan side Olimpia Asuncion.

He spoke about former Manchester City teammate Roque Santa Cruz and the club president’s six-year-old son as part of his reasons.

The 35-year-old signed a short-term contract with the South American club until the end of the year after leaving Turkish side Kayserispor in December.  

Adebayor’s move to the Paraguayan top-flight came as a surprise after previously playing in England, Spain, France and Turkey.

"At first I was impressed after speaking to club president and Roque Santa Cruz who was my old team-mate at Manchester City," Adebayor said at a press conference.

"He told me that in his country, people live and breathe football. I asked him for verbal assurance that everything will be fine.

"Santa Cruz gave me his word that I will love it here, so he played a big role in me coming here.

"I also got a lot of personal messages from some of the fans on social media and that made a big impact.

"But I was mostly touched by the words of the president's young son who, at six years old, said I am his idol. That was very emotional for me."

The former Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid striker was welcomed by about 5000 Paraguayan fans on his arrival at Asuncion airport.

"This was one of the most emotional days in my life," Adebayor continued.

"I understand that maybe some people know my name already, but I never expected the large turnout that greeted me so early on my arrival.

"We landed at 1 am in the morning and to see about 5,000 fans singing my name was emotional and unbelievable.

"They could've been sleeping or watching a movie but they came out to welcome me. I've played around the world but what I've seen, the Olimpia fans is one of the best."

Adebayor could feature when Olimpia Asuncion square-off with Cerro Porteno in Sunday’s league game.