Conflicting messages are coming out of Arsenal after striker Emmanuel Adebayor pledged his long-term future to the club at midday, before just over an hour later, in an interview with Sky Sports News, conceding he could still sign for Milan.
The assembled press must have thought Adebayor was set for a stay at Emirates Stadium after his press conference, but when quizzed later on whether there was any chance of a move to Milan he replied: "Nothing has been decided yet. We will decide next week."
Togo international Adebayor has been the subject of fevered speculation all summer, with Milan having declared their interest in bringing him to Italy.
Arsenal have remained tight-lipped on the player's future but now Adebayor has come out to comment on his situation in north London; albeit with sentiments that will likely confuse all parties.
On Thursday, super agent Vincenzo Morabito stated that the forward was '80 per cent certain' of joining Milan but this prediction appeared to be somewhat ill-founded, at least when Adebayor spoke at a press conference.
He said: "I have three more years with Arsenal, I have a good team there, I have a good contract.
"The most important thing is to keep enjoying myself. Of course (I am staying) I have three more years.
"You can see people changing clubs because of money, because they want a change of atmosphere or to get their names in the big leagues. I just play football to enjoy myself. I play because I love it.
"We all have the same ideas and we all want to achieve something. We have a good boss which is Arsene Wenger, he tries to bring this atmosphere to the dressing room where we feel like brothers and like family.
"Those are the reasons that give us a chance to play the football we play. We play good football, now we look forward to winning trophies."
Adebayor's comments would likely have been well received in the capital but later, in a one-on-one interview with Sky Sports, the player was considerably more ambiguous with regards his future.
"I am a footballer, I have a three-year contract at Arsenal but as you know, a lot of clubs are interested in me," he told Sky Sports News.
"At the moment we are just going to sit down and talk and decide what to do.
"Nothing has been decided yet. We will decide next week."
Your Comments
TheProphet
"To me, the answer is quite simple: Would Arsene pay 23m for Adebayor? Answer: Quite probably, "No" So: Take the money, buy another 7m player, and turn him into another 23m player. (One who, at that, would merely see his contract as a "basis for negotiation" and his future dependent on what "my agent and ..my family ..decide ..is good for my career.") What arrogance."
ToluDuro
"Guys try to see beyond your nose for a second please. ADE want to stay as long as arsenal are not willing to sell because of the mouthwatering offer. If ADE had gone to the African Nations cup , then you would appreciated his contribution last season. ADE is not overrated, he has lots of qualities that cant be matched and has potential. "
Unspecial_One
"cant believe a player of his calibre is in the center of these issues... i thought only players in the ranks of thierry henry, cristanio ronaldo have the 'rights' to do that.. go ahead and play overseas and he will be a total failure... another simply overrated epl player"
paksarcasm
"Haha, this guy must have been inspired by Ronaldo! I mean he too was probably bored by constant Ronaldo in the newspapers and thought hey why not make 'us' talk about an OVER-RATED striker like him for a while; lets first say yes and then oh no maybe I wanna leave... Hahaha! He is some character, but hey he can't even touch that selfish git Ronaldo! (From a sincere United fan) By the way why does anyone give a shit about wheres hes gonna be next season,even crouchy looks desirable in front of him! "
mark07968
"This guy is basically an incompetent clumsy fool. bar his wonder goal against spurs he has been pants all season missing guilt edges chances in important games. If you get offered the kind of money that is being banded around then you should take it and thank your lucky stars. This guy is no Henry. He isn't even a Kuyt or a voronin!! "
Cesc_Bomb
"I've just done a massive U-turn myself, I said I was gonna have cornflakes without sugar but I had sugar after all. What a big change that was eh?"
4EverOffside
"Adebayor's statements are not that inconsistent. Put them together and he says: 1) He is happy at Arsenal, 2) He is not unhappy with his salary, 3) He would be happy to stay at Arsenal for the remaining three years of his current contract, 4) Whether or not he stays at Arsenal is not entirely down to him (ie. Arsene could be tempted to sell him to AC Milan for the gobs of money being bandied about) and 5)If Arsenal did decide they would prefer to have AC Milan's money than him, he would go. Personally, I would hate to see him leave, because his strong physical presence up front, and the goals he scored, helped to keep Arsenal on top of the table for a long time last year. I don't think he's any more of a "bottler" of chances than any of the other top strikers. They are all guilty from time to time. But I trust Arsene's judgment on this (not that I have much of an option) because he seems to get a lot more right than wrong on these things. "
ronanfitz
"Lads in all fairness hes hopeless. He doesnt pass, scores against mediocre opposition, has the manners of a goon, seems incredibly arrogant and offers very little apart from the odd clip for match of the day. I say good riddance. Anything over 16 million would be to good for this non entity so lets cash in before the world realises hes nonsense. He wants to go, and any half way sentient human being would be delighted to see the back of him. A glorified Paul Dickov"
ToluDuro
"ADE want to stay but arsenal is finding the 25-32M IRRESTITIBLE for a player they bought for 7M. On the other side arsenal want to be sure they get a replace ment that will possess some of ADE'S qualities such as pace, strength, height advatage, somebody that can cause a defence panic if he plays as a loan striker. Presently there is none that posseses his qualities, there are better finishers out there but the aerial advantage, pace, stregth, work rate can't be matched. Has anyone ever thought while AC Milan are not after the likes of David Villa, Santa cruz, Guiza, Gomez, Crouch etc?"
Footymad
"Milan must be hurting s much from that Champion's League defeat, they reall think he's worth 30M. I'd sell him for that sort of money. He's good, but he's not world class. Talking of world class, what a performance from Cesc - is there a better midfielder out there at this moment than Fabregas??"
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