Ghana Legend Reveals Rejecting a Move to Manchester City to Play 2008 AFCON

• Ex-Sunderland forward Asamoah Gyan has recounted playing through injury at AFCON 2008 caused his transfer to Man City to collapse
• Ghana hosted the 2008 AFCON but failed to win the ultimate, losing to Cameroon at the semifinal stage.
• However, the Black Star fought hard to win the bronze medal after beating Ivory Coast 4:2 on penalty shootout

Asamoah Gyan has revealed that he rejected a move to Manchester City in order to play in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ghana.

The former Ghana captain was one of the key players for the Black Stars during the tournament but he was criticized for failing to live up to expectations.

According to him, he has sacrificed a lot to represent Ghana in the 2008 continental showpiece so he felt unfairly treated and got hurt over criticisms from the Ghanaian sports-loving fans.

Gyan netted once at the championship - a penalty in the opening game against Guinea.

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The forward revealed that he played through injury to represent his country which saw him sidelined for five months after the tournament was over.

Gyan regrets his decision as he claims it scuppered a transfer to Manchester City.

“I sacrificed for the nation. I should have been out of the tournament, but I felt that because of the love I have for the country I decided to come because I had a contract to sign for Manchester City, but I ignored the contract. I remember my agent told me I should boycott the Africa Cup of Nations and go for rehab and go and sign the contract.

“At that time I didn’t feel any criticism, starting from the colts level it was like I was being pampered until that time. I didn’t know anything about criticism until that time,” Asamoah Gyan told Pulse Ghana quoted by Manchester Evening News.

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“I felt like the criticism was unfair to me because they criticized me and I think it was personal in a game that we won, which Ghanaian were expecting like 10-0. People didn’t understand what was going on at that time, so I thought I was treated unfairly.

He threatened to walk out of the camp of the Black Stars, but the President of the Republic of Ghana at the time John Agyekum Kuffour intervened and he rescinded his decision.

Asamoah Gyan has played at seven Africa Cup of Nations and has scored eight goals in the process for the Black Stars.

The former Sunderland striker is Ghana’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals.