Former Ghana Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from professional football. The Ghanaian legend couldn’t hold back his tears as he broke the news.
For a few years now, Gyan has been inactive. But until Tuesday he had always maintained that he was an active professional footballer.
Speaking at an event held at the Accra International Conference Center yesterday, the 37-year-old said now is the time to stop. With tears in his eyes in the company of Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba, Asamoah ended his illustrious career.
In a statement released just after the event on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, Ghana’s all-time top scorer announced that he had retired from the profession after 18 years.
“I want to take this great opportunity, a stage that is difficult in every footballer’s career, a moment all footballers do not wish, but when nature dawns, that thin voice will keep echoing into the ears…IT IS TIME…that voice has been clear in my ears, and I have succumbed to it, IT IS TIME. IT IS TIME TO HANG THE JERSEY AND BOOTS IN GLORY as I retire officially from active football,” part of his statement reads.
Asamoah Gyan had a successful career which started at Liberty Professional in 2003 and ended at Legon Cities in 2021 when he last played active football.
He played for 11 different clubs including Liberty, Udinese, Modena FC, Stade Rennais, Sunderland, Al Ain FC, Shanghai Port FC, Shabab Al Ahli Club, Kayserispor, NorthEast United FC and Legon Cities.
Gyan is Ghana’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals in 109 games during his international career.
The news is obviously provoking various reactions of several entities in the world of football.