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Ghana: Asamoah Gyan feels ‘betrayed’ over losing captaincy to Andre Ayew

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The Black Stars legend had to give up his captain armband ahead of AFCON 2019.

Former Ghana international Asamoah Gyan has opened up on the controversy that forced him to end his international career.

A few months before the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana was caught in a dressing room unrest that resulted in Asamoah Gyan giving up his captain armband to Andre Ayew.

James Kwasi Appiah, who was Ghana’s coach at the time, received widespread controversy for the decision. The Black Stars went on to lose against Tunisia in the tournament’s round of 16, which only increased the pressure on Appiah and Ayew.

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 “I felt betrayed when the captaincy was taken from me,” Gyan told Asaase FM.

“The people who know what actually ensued will tell you that they know that I was betrayed; that’s all I can say.”

A host of players are linked with switching their international allegiances to Ghana ahead of the World Cup. However, Gyan says the Black Stars must remain cautious over new additions to the team.

“It happened to my brother [Baffour Gyan],” Gyan added. 

“In 2006 [when Ghana qualified for the World Cup], he played 90 per cent of the qualifiers and then they brought strikers who had never tasted one game. He was on the standby list.

“That was when my brother gave up on football. He doesn’t follow football, he doesn’t watch it, he doesn’t like it, he’s purely a businessman. Sometimes people have to be treated fairly.

“No player would like to be [left out], especially having played all the games. When these players come, they don’t even play one game. They just sit on the bench, get their bonuses and go, they don’t compete.”

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