Former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has stated that during his time with the national team, he did not take some criticisms lightly.
Gyan, Ghana’s all-time top scorer, asserted that he did not take criticisms that came off as abusive lightly.
Speaking at the Afro Sports Summit in Accra on July 18, the former Sunderland striker said he put himself in the position to be criticised when things did not go as expected because he showed up in games.
“It got to a point where I was very consistent in scoring goals. So, I put myself in that position for Ghanaians to trust me. Whenever things didn’t go well, they would be on you as if you were the only guy expected to deliver. And that day you would become the worst player. When I turned things around, I became the best player.”
He said he could tolerate most of the backlash but drew the line whenever it became abusive.
“Any time I made a mistake, and of course, the bashing and everything came, sometimes I always had fun with it. But where I took it personally was when the abuse became personal. That’s when there was no factual criticism, and that’s when I got a bit offended.”
Asamoah Gyan’s most unforgettable bad moment was missing a last-minute penalty in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay, denying Ghana a historic semi-final berth.
He received a lot of backlash, which extended into threats against his family. He then decided not to take a penalty for Ghana anymore.
Asamoah Gyan retired from football in 2023. His last appearance for the Black Stars dates back to 2019.
He ended his career as Ghana’s all-time top scorer and the second-most-capped player.
