French club Lyon say they rejected signing Emmanuel Adebayor because he boozed and smoked during negotiations

Free agent Emmanuel Adebayor, 32, has been looking for a new club this season after he was released by Crystal Palace in the summer. Top French club Lyon was interested in signing him but surprisingly negotiations didn't fall through at the last minute.

Adebayor blasted the French clubside amid reports the deal didn't fall through because he refused to pull out of the African cup of Nations. Now coach of Lyon, Bruno Genesio has revealed the real reasons why the deal failed, alleging that the player was smoking and taking alcohol when they met in Lyon to finalize contract negotiations and because of that he refused signing the player .

Genesio said

'We had a place in our squad for Manu, so I arranged to meet him for a coffee in Lyon. But, to my surprise, when he arrived he asked for a shot of whisky in his coffee. He also had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. In short, the interview began badly. I had been ready to listen to him, as this was a guy who had played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid. But what followed confirmed my first impression that there was no room for him at our club.”