Gyan began his career in 2003 withGhana Premier League clubLiberty Professionals, scoring ten goals in sixteen matches. He then spent three seasons withSerie. A clubUdinese via two seasonsloan atModena, netting on fifteen occasions in 53 league matches and atUdinese where he scored 11 times in 39 league matches.[7] In 2008, Gyan joinedLigue 1 clubRennes, netting fourteen times in forty-eight league matches during two seasons.[8] In 2010, Gyan joined thenPremier League clubSunderland, breaking the club'stransfer record and netting on ten occasions in thirty-four Premier League matches during two seasons.[9]
In 2011, Gyan joinedAl Ain of theUAE Pro League on loan and became the league's top goalscorer, scoring 22 times in 18 matches.[10] In the following season, Gyan permanently joined Al Ain and helped them retain the Pro League title, once again, finishing as the league's top goalscorer with an impressive 31 goals in 22 matches.[11] In the2013–14 league season, Gyan finished top scorer for a record third time, with 29 goals in 26 matches.[12]
Gyan is the all-time leading goalscorer of theGhana national team, with 51 goals.[13] He represented Ghana at the2006,2010 and2014FIFA World Cups. With six goals, he is the top African goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. Gyan also represented Ghana at the2004 Summer Olympics and in sevenAfrica Cup of Nations (2008,2010,2012,2013,2015,2017 and2019), helping them finish in third place in 2008 and as runners-up in 2010 and 2015. He launched his memoir, titled "LeGYANdry" at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra.[14] On 20 June 2023, Gyan announced his retirement from active football.[15]
Gyan is the last born of his parents, Baffour Gyan Mensah (Father) and the late Madam Cecilia Amoako (Mother). His elder brotherBaffour Gyan is also a former professional footballer.[16] Gyan was married to Gifty Sandra Dzamesi and together, they had three children, namely, Rafael Gyan, Frederick Gyan, Floyd Gyan.[17][18]
Born inAccra, Gyan had his early education at Seven Great Princess Academy inDansoman completing in 1999, and his secondary education at theAccra Academy from 1999 to 2002.[19] Gyan started his career at Ghanaian clubLiberty Professionals located in Accra. In his only top flight season with the club, he played 16 league matches in theGhana Premier League and scored 10 goals. He ended the season as the league's third top goal scorer.[20][21]
Having signed forUdinese in 2003, he spent two years onloan atSerie B clubModena to gain match experience. Following some excellent displays during the2006 World Cup, he attracted interest from Russian clubLokomotiv Moscow. Gyan returned to Udinese at the start of 2006, but on 17 February 2007, Udinese pulled out of a deal to sell him in the Januarytransfer window. The striker was on the verge of signing a three-year deal with Russian ClubLokomotiv Moscow forUS$10.5 million, the fourth largesttransfer fee in Russian football history. "The striker Udinese targeted to replace me did not sign for them," Gyan toldBBC Sport. "I've been told I will now have to stay in Italy for the rest of the season."[22]
On 10 August, 2007, along withFabio Quagliarella, Gyan signed an improved five-year contract extension to stay at Udinese until 30 June 2012, as a reward for his fine form[23] in the 2007–08 pre-season.[7] "I have decided to stay here because it is one of the top leagues in the world," Asamoah said, "There is the possibility of me playing regular football here to make me a better player. "I am comfortable with the new deal and I know I can help Udinese achieve things for the future".[24] Gyan and Quagliarella marked their contract extensions with a brace each in Udinese's 7–0 friendly win later that evening.[25][26]
On 29 July 2007, following his impressivepre-season form, including ahat-trick[26][27] in afriendly againstSerie B outfitSpezia on 25 July 2007, before Udinese sealed the long-term deal.[28][29] Gyan scored eight goals in 2006–07 to help the Stadio Friuli club finish in 10th place inSerie A.
Gyan was dogged by injury during the 2007–08 season and never appeared for Udinese again after January 2008, having played only 13Serie A matches and scored 3 times that season.
On 11 July 2008, Gyan was signed byLigue 1 clubStade Rennais for four years on an€8 million transfer fee.[8][30] Gyan played 48 times for Rennes, scoring 14 goals. By the end of his stay at Rennes, he became well known for his goal scoring abilities, scoring 13 league goals in the 2009–10 season. However, Gyan only played three games in Ligue 1 the following season, taking his total appearances to 53, before he departed for Sunderland.
On 31 August 2010, Gyan signed forPremier League clubSunderland on a four-year deal for a club record £13 million.[9] Gyan was later given thesquad number 33 shirt at Sunderland. He scored on his Sunderland debut againstWigan Athletic on 11 September after coming on as asubstitute forDanny Welbeck. The match ended in a 1–1 draw withAntolín Alcaraz scoring Wigan's equaliser.[31] He marked his first start for Sunderland by netting their only goal in theirLeague Cup exit at the hands ofWest Ham United.[32] Gyan scored twice on his first Premier League start for the club in a 2–0 win againstStoke City on 6 November. His firstgoal came in the 9th minute when aNedum Onuoha shot was parried by goalkeeperAsmir Begović, with Gyan on hand to tap home the rebound and his second came in the 86th minute, to secure a 2–0 victory for theBlack Cats.[33] Three days later, he followed this up by scoring the equaliser against Tottenham atWhite Hart Lane in a 1–1 draw as Sunderland moved up to seventh in the table.[34] He also scored a goal in Sunderland's 3–0 victory atStamford Bridge againstChelsea.[35] Gyan scored Sunderland's third goal in their 3–0 victory overBlackburn Rovers on 1 January 2011.[36]
On 16 January 2011, he started against local rivalsNewcastle United, scoring a 94th-minute equaliser, preventing Newcastle gaining their second win of the season against Sunderland.[37] Gyan added to his impressive goalscoring tally with a goal away at Stoke City on 5 February 2011. He scored an 11th-minute goal against Tottenham on 12 February 2011. Gyan's next goal came on 23 April as Sunderland beatWigan Athletic 4–2, a match which ended prematurely for the forward as he wassubstituted following ahamstring injury which was expected to see him miss the remainder of the season.[38] Gyan did recover in time to feature in Sunderland's last game of the season at West Ham but didn't add to his tally finishing his first season in English football with 10 league goals. Gyan took thesquad number 3 shirt for the 2011–12 season, the same squad number he wore for Ghana.
On 10 September 2011, it was confirmed on theSunderland website that Gyan would leave on a season long loan to clubAl Ain FC.[10] Amid speculation of a fee of up to £6 million being paid for theloan period, with Gyan receiving up to four times his previous salary,[39] ChairmanNiall Quinn emphasised the financial benefits of the deal for both Sunderland and the player. The Ghanaian finished the season with Al Ain by helping them capture their tenth league success and was the top goalscorer in the season with 22 leaguegoals.
WhenMartin O'Neill became manager of Sunderland on 8 December 2011, he considered the possibility of recalling Gyan from his loan spell away from the club.[40]
Gyansigned a five-yearcontract with Al Ain on 6 July 2012, worth over £6m per season.[41] He was the top goalscorer in the UAE league in the 2013 season and helped his team retain the league title. On 24 July 2014, Gyan announced on his personal website that he had signed a contract extension at Al-Ain, receiving an improved deal and tying him to the club until 2018.[12]
On 7 July 2015, Gyan confirmed on his own website that he had leftAl Ain and was set to joinChinese Super League clubShanghai SIPG. Shanghai SIPG then officially announced they signed Gyan from Al Ain with an undisclosed fee.[42][43] It was then revealed that Gyan's weekly salary of £227,000 with his Chinese club instantly made him one of the world's best paid football players.[44]
On 19 September 2019, he joined the Indian Super League sideNorthEast United.[47] On 26 October 2019, he scored his first goal for Northeast United FC againstOdisha FC in the 84 th minute of the match as his team won the game by 2–1.[48]Halfway through the season, he suffered an injury that would keep him out for the rest of the season, and on 15 January 2020, he was officially released from the club as Irish strikerAndy Keogh was signed as a replacement.[49] He ended his time with Northeast United with a total of 4 goals in 8 appearances.
On 1 November 2020, Gyan returned to Ghana to joinLegon Cities,[50] in a loan deal worth more than 1 million dollars.[51] He played his first match on 27 November 2020, coming on in the 71st minute for Raphael Ocloo in their goalless draw againstMedeama, marking a 17-year return to theGhana Premier League since leaving his boyhood clubLiberty Professionals to sign for Italian clubUdinese.[52] On 3 June 2021, Gyan started his first match for theRoyals in the2021 Ghanaian FA Cup Round of 64 match againstUncle 'T', which ended in a 2–1 victory atAccra Sports Stadium via a brace fromRichmond Antwi.[53][54]
Gyan announced his retirement from active football on 20 June 2023, marking the end of a career spanning two decades.[55] The announcement took place at the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meetings held at theAccra International Conference Centre.[56]
Gyan's retirement statement reflected the sentiment that the time had come for him to bid farewell to his illustrious playing career, acknowledging the natural progression that all footballers eventually face.[56] He expressed gratitude to his country, family, colleagues, and everyone who contributed to his football journey. Gyan also expressed his intention to remain involved in the sport, focusing on coaching, football business, and scouting, while continuing to nurture young talents, as exemplified by his recent involvement in the Baby Jet U16 African Tournament.[57][58][56][59]
Gyan made his international debut at the age of 17, three days before his 18th birthday.[60] Gyan scored on his senior International debut forGhana againstSomalia on 19 November 2003, in the 90th minute.[61] He came on forNana Arhin Duah in the 77th minute in a2006 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.[61][62]
He scored four times in seven matches during that successful World Cup qualifying campaign, helping Ghana to qualify for their first world cup in history. He was part of the2004 Ghana Olympic squad, who exitedin the first round, having finished in third place inGroup B.[60]
He also scored the fastestgoal of the tournament after 68 seconds. The strike was also Ghana's first ever goal in theFIFA World Cup, coming in thegame against theCzech Republic on 17 June at theRheinEnergieStadion inCologne,Germany, which set the Black Stars on their way to a 2–0 victory.[63] He missed a penalty later in the game, andreceived a yellow card ruling him out of the final group game for trying to take the penalty too early.[63] In Ghana's defeat toBrazil in theround of 16, he was sent off in the 81st minute after collecting his second booking of the match (fordiving).[64]
On 24 January 2008, during theAfrica Cup of Nations, Gyan and his brotherBaffour decided to walk out on the Black Stars following criticism after their unconvincing 1–0 win overNamibia.[65] The media learnt the brothers had packed their bags and were ready to leave the team hotel but were persuaded to stay by teammates.[66] In the2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Asamoah Gyan helped a Ghana team, ravaged by injuries to the finals. Gyan scored three out of the four Ghana goals during the tournament.
Gyan scored with a penalty in the 85th minute of Ghana's first match of the2010 World Cup againstSerbia, in a 1–0 win. He hit thegoalpost in the 92nd minute before beingsubstituted to a standing ovation just before the final whistle.[67] In Ghana's second game, he scored a penalty in the 26th minute to level the scores and earn his team a 1–1 draw againstAustralia.[68]
Asamoah Gyan playing against England in 2011
In the round of 16 match against theUnited States, he scored a goal in extra time allowing Ghana to win 2–1 and hence become the third African team in history to qualify to the tournament's quarter final, afterCameroon andSenegal.[69] In thequarter final tie againstUruguay, followingLuis Suárez'shandling of the ball on the goal-line, he missed apenalty kick with no time remaining at end ofextra time, hitting the crossbar and necessitating apenalty shootout to decide the game. He converted his kick in the subsequent penalty shootout, but Uruguay went on to win the shootout 4–2.[70]
For the second time in his career, Gyan missed a crucial penalty kick in a major tournament when he had his penalty kick saved in the2012 African Cup of Nations semi-final. Ghana went on to lose 1–0. After missing that penalty kick, Gyan decided to take an "indefinite break" from international football.[71] On 8 May 2012, he announced his return to the Black Stars team.[72][73]
On 7 June 2013, he scored 2 goals in a 3–1 win overSudan in a World Cup qualifier to make him the country's leading goalscorer, surpassingAbedi Pele's 33 goals.[74]
Gyan playing for Ghana at the AFCON 2015
On 2 June 2014, Gyan was named inGhana's squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup.[75] In the team's opening match, hecaptained the Black Stars against the United States in a 2–1 defeat.[76] He scored his first goal of the tournament in a 2–2 draw withGermany,[77] equalingRoger Milla's record of fiveFIFA World Cup goals. In the final group match, he became the top African goalscorer in World Cup finals history by scoring the Black Stars' goal as they were defeated 2–1 byPortugal.[78]
At the2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Gyan missed Ghana's opening match, a 2–1 loss to Senegal, with a "mild bout" of malaria.[79] He returned for the second match, scoring a last minute winning goal against the tournament favouriteAlgeria in a 1–0 win for the Black Stars.[80]An international exile lasting over a year was ended in October 2018 when Gyan was called up to the Ghanaian squad for a pair of2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches versusSierra Leone.[81]
He announced his retirement from international football on 20 May 2019, a month to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[82] However, a day later Gyan reversed his decision following a discussion with the president of Ghana,Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.[83][4][84][85] In early August 2022 Gyan released a statement that he was training to get back to full fitness to play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[86] Gyan was not part of the 26 man squad selected to represent Ghana in the World Cup 2022 and since then has been an ample supporter of the Black Stars and has been leading fan festivals and ceremonies.[87] Gyan retired as Ghana's all-time leading goal scorer, amassing a total of 51 goals in 109 appearances for his country. He also retires holding the record for the highest number of goals scored by any African player in the history of theWorld Cup, with a tally of six goals.
In June 2012, Gyan turned his attention towards boxingpromotion and announced he would put on his debutboxing show in Ghana.[88] On 6 July 2012, Asamoah Gyan stated:
Ghana has a lot of great boxers previously likeAzumah Nelson,Ike Quartey andJoshua Clottey, so we need to push the young ones coming up. I would like to encourage the young ones coming up and those who want to achieve their aim.
In February 2021, a contract between Baby Jet Promotions andEmmanuel Tagoe who was the only boxer in the promotion's fold was terminated. The contract was for a period spanning October 2018 to November 2021.[89]
As of October 2017, Asamoah Gyan has been granted anAir Carrier Licence (ACL) by theGhanaian Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). According to theGhana News Agency, the start-up is namedBaby Jet Airlines. With the license in hand, the start-up is now permitted to begin with itsAOC certification drive.[90]
He began to play tennis in 2020 to keep him fit after a long break due to injury.[91] Baby Jet promotions linked up with MANCWA Commodities to run the Top 16 Invitational tournament in a bid to promote the sport.[92]
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