Ex-sunderland Star, Asamoah Gyan retires from football

VOICE AIR MEDIA News Update

Ghana’s record goalscorer, Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37.

“It’s a difficult stage in any player’s career, a moment that all footballers dread. But when nature takes over, a little voice starts ringing in your ears… +It’s time…” he told a press conference in Accra.

“I heard that voice very clearly, and I succumbed to it: it’s time,” continued Ghana’s all-time top scorer, with 51 international goals to his name and a career spanning more than 20 years. “It’s time to put away the shirt and shoes, because I’m officially retiring from active football.

The former Ghana captain took part in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and represented his country at seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

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”.

Gyan’s domestic career took him to 11 clubs in eight countries including Udinese in Italy, Rennes in France, and Sunderland in England, plus Abu Dhabi, China Turkey and India, before a return to Ghana in 2020.

VOICE AIR MEDIA reports that Gyan is best remembered in England for his time at Sunderland between 2010 and 2012.

The 109-cap former Ghana international joined from Rennes in what was a club record fee of more than £13million, going on to score on his Premier League debut v Wigan Athletic, and then in his full debut in a League Cup clash v West Ham.