Rescind your decision – Akufo Addo tells Asamoah Gyan

President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan to rescind his decision to retire from the national team.

Akufo-Addo spoke to Gyan on phone Tuesday after a meeting with Black Stars stakeholders at the Jubilee House following the captaincy row.

“President Akufo-Addo, subsequently, also spoke on the telephone with Asamoah Gyan, and informed him of the considerable national disquiet over his decision to retire from the Black Stars.

“The President urged him, in the national interest, to rescind his decision to retire from the Black Stars, and make himself available for selection by Coach Kwasi Appiah,” the director of communications at the presidency Eugene Arhin said in a Facebook post.

Gyan on Monday announced his retirement from the National team after coach Kwasi Appiah took the armband from him.

“Upon consultation with my family and team, and as an active footballer and captain of the National team, if the decision of the coach is to give captaincy of the tournament to another player while I am named in the team for the tournament, I wish to recuse myself from the tournament.

“I also wish to retire from the national team permanently; not pretending my presence would not fuel the purported undermining the country has seen under my captaincy,” Gyan said in a statement Monday.

Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17 and scored on his senior debut for Ghana against Somalia on 19 November 2003 in the 90th minute.

He came on for Isaac Boakye in the 62nd minute in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier, three days before he turned 18 years; helping Ghana to win that game, and making him the youngest ever player to score for Ghana.

He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign.

He represented Ghana at 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.

With 6 goals, he is the top African goalscorer in the history of the World Cup.

Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017, helping them finish in third-place in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015.