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Ghana’s record goalscorer Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from football.
The 37-year-old fought back tears as he revealed his decision while on stage with former Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
“It’s time to tell everybody. It’s a very, very difficult moment,” said the former striker who scored 51 goals in 109 games for his country.
Gyan later took to social media to explain why he was calling time on his 20-year career.
“It is time,” he wrote, “to hang the jersey and boots in glory as I retire officially from active football.
“A stage that is difficult in every footballer’s career, a moment all footballers do not wish but when nature dawns that this voice will keep echoing into the ears.”
The 2010 BBC African Footballer of the Year made his international debut in 2003 as a 17-year-old, coming on as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Somalia. He made his final appearance for the Black Stars in 2019.
He played in seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, helping Ghana finish third in 2008 and as runners-up in the 2010 and 2015 editions.
The Confederation of African Football described him as “an absolute legend of the game” and “one of the best to ever do it”.
As well as being his country’s leading scorer, Gyan is also Africa’s top scorer at World Cups.
The first of his six goals came after just 68 seconds of the 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in a group game at the 2006 tournament in Germany.
He scored three goals in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as Ghana reached the quarter-finals, but missed a crucial penalty at the end of extra time that would have seen his nation become the first African side ever to reach the last four. BBC
