If someone looks up the word 'charisma' in the dictionary, they may come across the face and colossal figure of Adebayo Akinfenwa . More than 100 kilos of center forward who after 15 years of emblematic career in the lower divisions of English football now lives the greatest moment of glory that he could ever dream of. At 38 years old he has managed to ascend to Championship (the second division) for the first time in his life and in the ranks of the Wycombe Wanderers , a modest club that has never reached such a high point in its entire history. And, for dessert, Liverpool has invited him to be part of the celebrations for the Premier League title.

But let's start at the beginning. Akinfenwa is an Englishman of Nigerian descent, a Christian like his mother despite his father's Muslim faith. He has always been a boy, then a man, outside the aesthetic canons of society in general and professional football in particular. It is big, very big: 105 kilos in a body about 180 centimeters high . A physiognomy that earned him the nickname ' The Beast ' and also teasing and rejection by a football that tends to deny those who do not look like athlete's physicists.

"I am different. There is no one like me in this sport . Sometimes people look at me and feel that it is not necessary to fit certain criteria. Just because it is said that to play basketball you have to measure two meters does not mean that someone 1.50 can not play, like someone of 105 kilos like me can play soccer, "explained the footballer himself a few months ago in an interview with the English soccer YouTube channel 'The English Media ', in which he also He said his philosophy of life: "Do not do things to show that others are wrong, but to show that you are right."

Overcoming the slavery of stereotypes, Akinfenwa managed to carve out a prolific career in League One and League Two, third and fourth categories of English professional football. In 2016, after achieving promotion to League One with AFC Wimbledon and knowing that they were not going to renew him despite having scored in the final, he uttered a phrase to remember in his interview on the field after his last game: "Technically , right now I'm already unemployed, so any coach who wants to hire me to send me a WhatsApp ".

The offer was answered by Wycombe Wanderers, a team from the lower League Two . After two years, promotion to League One arrived . And this course, against all odds, reached the playoff to go up to Championship. This Monday, Wycombe defeated Oxford United at Wembley and achieved the greatest success in its entire history, also that of Akinfenwa himself.

And here WhatsApp comes back to prominence, because the striker was reminded of that phrase during the celebration and replied that now he only wanted to receive a message from Jürgen Klopp . Because Akinfenwa, in addition to everything already said, is a staunch Liverpool fan. So much so that the day after the 'Reds' achieved the Premier League, he showed up at Wycombe training with a Liverpool shirt . He was fined for it.

The thing is that Klopp, after being warned by his captain Jordan Henderson of what had happened, grabbed his cell phone and fulfilled Akinfenwa's wishes. The footballer himself recorded the conversation with the German coach and published it on his Twitter: " The man, the myth, the legend, has sent me a WhatsApp! ". And if that were not enough, Liverpool has announced that it has formally invited Akinfenwa to participate in the Premier League celebration parade through the city of Liverpool. Akinfenwa's endless fairy tale.

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