Ghana’s all-time top scorer Asamoah Gyan says for the intervention of then Ghana president John Agyekum Kuffour, he would have left the Black Stars camp during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
Gyan was playing at the AFCON for the very first time having missed the 2006 edition due to injury.
The then Udinese player had decided against a move to Premier League side, Manchester City as he was keen on representing his country at the continental showpiece.
Gyan suffered harsh criticism from Ghanaians after a below-par performance, something he says led to him almost abandoning the team midway through the tournament.
“My mum called me early in the morning while I was in camp and she was crying and because of the anger I said I was not going to play [the AFCON] again,” he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV.
“And also ex-President Kuffour, he was a huge fan of mine and admired me from afar but he had never seen me before. He also heard what was going on and he drove to the camp to see us and speak to the team, when he was done he asked to speak to only me.
“It was there he told me he is a huge fan. He was the one who spoke to me and went back to the team.”
