Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan says even though he has lately been considering retirement, having achieved enough in football, his passion for the game was motivating him not to retire now.
Asked if he was preparing himself mentally for retirement, when he appeared on the Delay television Show on Sunday evening, he said: “Not now.”
He was not definite on the number of years he still wants to play football and said God will determine when he should retire.
Gyan is ending a two year contract with the Chinese side, Shanghai SIPG in July 2017 after playing one year of the contract in China and the remaining year on loan in UAE with Al Ahli.
The Chinese club has decided not to renew the contract since Gyan was not consistent with play following a series of minor injuries during the period.
“I wasn’t consistent, so they had to bring a change, it is normal. In life you always have to make a decision. That does not mean I am a bad player,” he told the interviewer, Deloris Frimpong Manso [Delay].
Stress
Gyan said he felt the stress with having to manage his businesses, playing for club side as well as the national team and travelling many of the times without rest was taking a toll on him and making him not to be able to put out his best.
Disagreeing that age was a factor in the many minor injuries he was sustaining in recent times, Gyan said he thought it was tiredness and stress.
“I don’t think so, I am sure it is tiredness because I started playing football at a tender age [early].”
He said people sometimes meet him on the street and conclude he has aged but his explanation is that he started playing as a youngster and hence his name is a household name.
I am the only player left in the national team among the colleagues I started playing football with, he said.
He said lifestyle changes with bigger responsibilities and stress were working against him lately.
Watch the full interview below: