Ghana Legend Asamoah Gyan Reveals Why Manchester City Signed Adebayor

• Legendary Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan has revealed he was close to joining Manchester City
• The 37-year-old had to decide between playing at the Africa Cup of Nations and joining City
• Manchester City ended up signing Emmanuel Adebayor

Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has revealed that choosing to play at AFCON 2008 cost him a move to Manchester City.

The Ghana international was on the radar of the English giants in 2008, but the deal fell through at the eleventh hour.

According to Gyan, his decision to honour a Black Stars invite forced City to sign Emmanuel Adebayor.

“Before CAN 2008, Man City were interested in signing me. Sven-Göran Eriksson was the coach at the time and they were keen to sign me,” he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV as quoted by myjoyonline.

Former Southampton star robbed of thousands of US dollars in elaborate scheme

Football

“My manager asked that I go and treat [some pains I had been feeling before the AFCON] and then I sign for Man City but I told him I wanted to play at the Africa Cup [of Nations] because it was going to be my first one and was going to be hosted by Ghana.

“So when Ghanaians criticised me I was pained a lot because I left a lot of money to sacrifice and play at the tournament but they didn’t appreciate it.

“So they signed Adebayor after they had missed out on me.”

Gyan ended up staying at Stade Rennais before leaving for England in 2010, where he joined Sunderland.

The 37-year-old is yet to announce his retirement from the sport. He remains Ghana's all-time leading scorer with 51 goals from 109 appearances.

Cody Gakpo: Holland, Liverpool star reveals his 'crazy' love for Togo

Football

Gyan reveals admiration for Okocha

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan is full of admiration for former Nigeria captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha.

Gyan was bewildered by Okocha's skills, as he watched old footage of the ex-Super Eagles star during his days in the English Premier League with Bolton Wanderers.

Reacting to old clips of the Nigerian legend, Gyan concluded Okocha is one of the greatest to ever have played the game.