One month ahead of this summer's Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana's all-time top scorer Asamoah Gyan has announced his retirement from international duty on Monday after the Black Stars coach’s decision to strip him of the captaincy.
Coach Kwesi Appiah decided to hand the armband to Fenerbahçe's winger Andre Ayew instead of Gyan.
''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," Gyan said in a press statement on Monday.
''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.
''I would continue to serve the country Ghana in other endeavors as a businessman through various investments.''
The 33-year-old started his international career at the age of 17 in a game against Somalia on 19 November 2003.
Gyan, who has 106 caps so far, is the all-time leading goal scorer with 51 goals. He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
With six goals, he is the top African goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.
Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven editions of the Nations Cup in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017, helping the Black Stars finish third in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015.
Ghana will play in Group F of the Nations Cup alongside defending champions Cameroon, Benin and Guinea Bissau.