Former captain of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan has revealed that he rejected a move to Manchester City to play in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The country hosted the 2008 AFCON but failed to win the ultimate, losing to Cameroon at the semifinals stage.
However, the team fought hard to win the bronze medal after beating Ivory Coast 4:2 on penalty shootout.
The 32-year-old was criticized for not living up to expectations during the tournament.
Speaking to Pulse Sports in an interview, the former Sunderlands and Udinese Calcio ace revealed that he has sacrificed a lot for the country, adding he rejected a move to Manchester City to play for the country.
“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 it. I remember my agent told me I should boycott the Africa Cup of Nations and go for rehab and go and sign the contract.
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“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.
“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 continued, “My mother called me and she was crying. I felt it wasn’t the right time to do that in the middle of the tournament and I felt that the whole nation was against me and at that tender age, I was like 20 years, so I felt that the whole nation was against me.
“But I told him the tournament was very important to me because Ghana was hosting it and I missed the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and that (2008) would have been my first Africa Cup of Nations and Ghana was hosting, so there was a lot of things going through my mind so that was why I got hurt and I decided to just let it go,” he added.