Adebayo Akinfenwa’s swansong of his 20-year career will take place at the home of English football.
Saturday, May 21 will see Wycombe Wanderers take on either Sheffield Wednesday or Sunderland in the 2022 League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium, after the Chairboys defeated Milton Keynes 2-1 on aggregate over two semi-final matches.
Six years after @daRealAkinfenwa stood on the Wembley turf asking managers to hit him up on WhatsApp…
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) May 8, 2022
His career will end under the arch as a #Chairboys player.
One. Last. Dance. pic.twitter.com/bbi73hMBpP
Mad celebrations were seen at Stadium: MK as a 1-0 win for the side north of the county wasn’t enough to earn their place in the showpiece in two weeks' time.
Cue mad scenes in the top-tier of MK’s 30,500 stadium, as a wave of blue was seen bouncing around in Bletchley.
That smile! 😃
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 8, 2022
Adebayo Akinfenwa says it will be "beautiful" to play his final ever game at Wembley, as the legendary EFL striker is planning to retire at the end of this season 💪pic.twitter.com/Xi0qx8OygD
Leading the celebrations on the pitch was, of course, Akinfenwa, who will be 40-years-old when the League One play-off final takes place.
His 40th birthday is on May 10, just two days after Wycombe’s place in the final was confirmed on May 8.
Raw Emotion 😂💙💙 https://t.co/SoguzZcKiQ
— daRealAAkinfenwa (@daRealAkinfenwa) May 8, 2022
Speaking to Sky Sports after the win over MK, he said: “I’m going to be 40 at Wembley!
“Starting out at Hackney Marshes and my last game is going to be at Wembley and it’s with this club.
“People are asking about ‘what’s the secret’ and it’s our management staff, it’s our fans, and this club unapologetically, allows you to be yourself.
“We stick together, there are no egos and this is the beautiful game.
“We’ve got one more hurdle to jump, and there will be nothing better than to leave this club getting promoted to the Championship."
On being an unused sub in the game, he jokingly said: "I hate it!
Best keeper ever 💙 https://t.co/SoguzYVHgQ
— daRealAAkinfenwa (@daRealAkinfenwa) May 9, 2022
"I said to the gaffer to put me on there so I can something!
“It was nerve-wracking but we’ve got that togetherness and we’ll got over the line.
“You’ve got to beat anyone to get promoted and we’ll watch the game, and believe, whoever it is, we will bring our sauce.
“And the secret (to our success) is the gaffer and Dobbo.”
In his six years at Wycombe, Akinfenwa has finished as the club’s top-scorer in four of those campaigns.
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