A few weeks ago, Manchester City made a fair, reasonable and considerate offer to Emmanuel Adebayor.
In a magnanimous gesture, they were prepared to pay up the difference between the offer on the table from Tottenham and his £170,000-a-week wages.
With two years left on his contract, City were prepared to commit £10million to a player who has not played for the club since December 1, 2010.
His last game for the club was a substitute’s appearance in the Europa League against Salzburg, signing off his playing days at City just 18 months in to a five-year contract
Adebayor should consider himself fortunate that City have the inclination to pay up the vast majority of the remaining £17.6m left on his contract.
Sure, they wanted him off their wage bill after two years of inactivity, but it is generous all the same.
Tottenham, with an upper ceiling on salaries of around £80,000 a week, were willing to pay the difference to secure the striker on a permanent deal.
They are short of strikers and Adebayor, after a successful season on loan at White Hart Lane last year, fitted the bill. It seemed like a nice deal all round, with Adebayor guaranteed his super-sized salary until 2014.
Beyond that, Tottenham wanted him to sign an extended contract on reduced terms to sit within their existing pay structure. By then, Adebayor will be 30 and Tottenham were offering to pay him a minimum £80,000 a week between 2014-2017.
That’s another £12m, before tax, on top of the £17.6m he will earn over the next two years.
That seems like a pretty decent offer from Spurs, particularly given Adebayor’s history in the Premier League.
City have done their bit, too. Since he returned from last season’s loan spell at Spurs, they have fulfilled his contractual obligations and paid him the best part of £1m through the summer.
In exchange for their goodwill, City want a clean break and to continue planning for the future without him.
The have been paying him top dollar for long enough, barely getting a return on their £25m investment.
For that he has made just 34 Premier League appearances in a City shirt, a dreadful return on a player who is seldom injured.
This is not Michael Owen we are talking about, where spasms and hamstring strains have restricted his appearance record at the highest level in recent years.
It is not good enough for the former Togo international striker though, preferring to sit tight at City and make everyone’s life a misery.
Roberto Mancini is certainly feeling that way, tired of Adebayor and determined to get him away from the champions before they face Southampton on Sunday.
Despite his pedigree, Mancini is unwilling to patch him back into a team who won the Premier League without him last season.
He was left out of the squad for the Community Shield, no longer a part of City’s plans as they prepare for another exciting season.
In the time Adebayor has spent on loan at Real Madrid and Tottenham, the team who paid £25m to sign him have won the FA Cup and Premier League.
This season they will play in the Champions League for the second successive season, but Adebayor will not be a part of that.
Mancini has made it clear that there is no way back, but there are few alternative destinations for a player with his reputation.
Adebayor is prepared to tough it and wait for another club to match his salary expectations over the next five years.
Other than the Copa del Rey, which he won during his six month spell at Real Madrid, he has won nothing of any note during his career.
There have been some personal accolades worthy of his ability, such as the PFA Team of the Year and the African Footballer of the Year.
He has also scored some magnificent goals, winning goal of the season for his strike at Spurs in September 2007.
He is a decent player, no question. At times, Harry Redknapp got the best out of him and 17 goals in 33 appearances is a decent return for a Premier League striker.
Perhaps Spurs will be better off exploring the alternatives, continuing their search for a young and ambitious striker to play a part in their future.
Andre Villas-Boas will rely on Jermain Defoe in the opening weeks of the season and he has even enthused about the chances of Harry Kane in the last few days. They begin the season at Newcastle, desperate to get off to a good start under their new coach.
Adebayor could have been part of that, but cash has always been king in his world.
