Ghana’s all-time top scorer Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from professional football after two years of inactivity.
Gyan last played competitive football during the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League season when he featured for Legon Cities.
Gyan began his football career back in 2003 with Liberty Professionals scoring ten goals in 16 matches with the Scientific lads before leaving for Italy, where he joined Udinese.
The 37-year-old made the decision to retire from professional football during the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Afriexim Bank Africa Trade Gateway Conference in Accra on Tuesday, June 20.
In a statement posted by the former Black Stars captain on his social media pages later on the day, Gyan said: “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.”
Gyan’s football career all saw him play in France where he starred for Rennes, netting fourteen times in forty-eight league matches during two seasons.
In 2010, the 37-year-old joined Premier League side Sunderland, breaking the club’s transfer record and netting on 10occasions in thirty-four Premier League matches during his two seasons at the Stadium of Light.
He also featured for Al Ain, Shanghai SIPG, Kayserispor and North East United before joining Legon Cities.
Gyan made 109 appearances for the Black Stars on the international stage scoring 51 goals.
Gyan played at three World Cup editions and retires as Africa’s top scorer on the world stage.