Emmanuel Adebayor Admits He 'Thought About Suicide' as Striker Opens Up About Dark Past

Former Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has admitted that he first thought about committing suicide at the age of 16. The Togolese forward has previously blamed his manipulative family for his battle with depression, once have a knife pressed into his throat by his own brother.

Adebayor, who currently plays for Turkish side Medipol Basaksehir, also claimed that there a number of African players who've battled with these thoughts before.

"A lot of African players suffer from it," Adebayor admitted in an interview with Canal+. "At the age of 16, I thought about suicide. Everything was ready, the drugs were next to me."

This isn't the first time that Adebayor has spoken about his past. Back in November, the 33-year-old also opened upabout the history he has with his family, claiming that his relatives would often "demand money" and not ask about his wellbeing.

"I felt like killing myself so many times. I kept this to myself for years and years. I am disgusted that things reached this stage, but I feel relieved to have talked about it," Adebayor said.

"I often change my phone number so that my family can't contact me. They call me, not to ask how I am, but to demand money. That was the case after I injured my hamstring while with Tottenham.

"They rang me while I was having a scan to ask me if I could pay a kid's school fees. At least ask me first how I am before you do this!"

Despite Adebayor's antics on the pitch leaving him a far from popular figure amongst some Premier League supporters, therecan be nothing but respect for a striker who has impressively overcome countless obsticles to reach the top of European football.