You can't force Andre Ayew to retire - Emmanuel Agyemang Badu

Former Ghana international Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has cautioned Ghanaians against pressuring Andre Ayew to retire from the national team, emphasizing that the decision should be left to the veteran forward himself.

Ayew, who has captained the Black Stars for many years, has not featured for Ghana since March 2024 due to being overlooked by the technical team.

The 34-year-old made a return to club football in October, rejoining Le Havre and has already shown strong performances in Ligue 1.

Agyemang Badu, who has been teammates with Ayew since their days with the U20 national team in 2009, expressed support for his long-time friend and believes that Ayew should retire on his own terms.

“Ayew is one of my very good friends, and I have been privileged to have worked with him.

He was my captain at U20 level, even though he had already been playing for the Black Stars,” Agyemang Badu said in an interview with Flashscore.

He continued, “If he feels his body is still responding and the coach still needs him, we will all support him.

But we have brought in a coach to do a great job for us, so ultimately, it lies in the hands of the coach.

Ayew is now playing for a club, he’s getting his form back, and if the coach thinks his experience as captain is still needed, we will support him 120 percent.”

Agyemang Badu also emphasized that only Ayew knows his body, and no one can dictate when he should retire.

“If Andre wakes up one day and decides it’s time to focus only on club football, we will say thank you and appreciate everything he has done for the Black Stars," he concluded.