Ghanaian stars who looked away

Ghana’s place as a football powerhouse in Africa is diminishing, as the Black Stars have failed to live up to the billing of the yesteryears. As current stars age and leave the scene, the gaps are becoming clearer by the day. Age is catching up with the Ayew brothers Jordan and Andrew, and in a few years, the Abedi Pele lineage will be gone from the face of the national team.

Asamoah Gyan came, had his fair share of stardom and went. What of the Michael Essiens, Tony Yeboahs, Sammy Osei Kuffours and all? Indeed, Ghana have had their share of star players; those who, despite their status in the football ladder, chose to represent their country of African roots.

It is not like the shine of the Black Stars has completely faded off; we still have top Ghanaian players who are still spinning heads and lifting their clubs. The likes of Thomas Partey and Mohamed Kudus whose availability is always an asset and they can easily influence the context of a game, where you can get the best sure straight win predictions for football matches. SportyTrader holds many such previews with great predictability.

With all the glamour that Ghana have had in African football, the West African nation still had the chance to do better, if all their top players had opted to play for the country. So here are some of the top players with Ghanaian roots who chose to seek their chances elsewhere:

Alphonso Davies: This Bayern Munich star plays for Canada, his adopted nation, his parents having moved to the country as immigrants. He was born in Buduburam refugee camp, his parents having fled war in Liberia. He made his Canada senior debut in 2017, just a week after obtaining Canadian citizenship.

Marcel Desailly: One of the greatest defenders to have graced the game of football, a 1998 World Cup winner with France, was never shy of denouncing Ghana in favor of France. His statement that he felt more French and would never consider playing for another country stung Ghanaian fans for many years but it is what it is. He went on to skipper the France national team before retirement.

Mario Balotelli: In 2007, Mario Balotelli was presented the chance to turn out for Ghana by then coach Claude Le Roy. He declined and opted to wait on an Italy call up. It came and he went on to play for the European nation 33 times, scoring 13 goals.

Jerome Boateng: Another of the players with Ghanaian roots, who passed up the chance to feature for Ghana, and chose a European nation. Boateng is now a German legend, a World Cup winner, who only visited Ghana as a tourist. This is despite his brother, Kevin Prince Boateng, playing for Ghana, after earlier serving in the German youth teams.

Memphis Depay: Another top talent to have rejected Ghana is Memphis Depay. Born to a Ghanaian father and a Dutch mother, the former Manchester United, Lyon and Barcelona man would have easily walked into the Ghana national team. Instead, he chose the Netherlands. His love for Ghana is however very clear, as he supports several programs in Ghana.