Black Stars and KRC Genk winger Joseph Paintsil says former Ghana coach Otto Addo told him that there is more to football than just providing assists and scoring goals something at which Paintsil was excelling at.

Paintsil was named in the provisional 55-man squad list that was released on 2nd November 2022 by the Ghana Football Association  (GFA).

Prior to the World Cup, the winger was among the most in-form Ghanaian players playing in Europe but then Black Stars coach Otto Addo did not fancy him.

Paintsil was snubbed by Otto Addo in September 2022 when Ghana played two friendly matches against Brazil and Nicaragua which they lost 3-0 and won 1-0 respectively.

The former Tema Youth winger has six goals and seven assists in 13 games across all competitions this season for Genk.

According to the player, Otto Addo denied him the opportunity to play at his first-ever World Cup by not selecting for Ghana despite his scintillating form in Belgium.

"His decision was unfair," Paintsil disclosed in an interview with Belgium-based Newspaper Belang van Limburg.

" He gave me no valid reason to explain my absence. I told him the same thing during a phone conversation. He told me that there were players ahead of me in the hierarchy. Among them, there were guys who, like me, play in the Jupiler Pro League . They didn't have couldn't present the same stats, but Addo said football isn't all about goals and assists."

He added on his exit: "I'm happy about it. The World Cup was a fantastic opportunity to show me to the world, but he took it away from me. I'm now patiently waiting to see who the next national coach will be. , because I will always be available for the national team. Hoping for him that he continues to shoot on the ground as he does behind a microphone."

Ghana exited the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Group stage after a win over Korea and defeats to Portugal and Uruguay.