"Sunderland told me to leave"- Asamoah Gyan opens up to Rio Ferdinand on England spell

Former Ghana captain and World Cup star, Asamoah Gyan, has opened up on his short but exciting spell at English Premier League side AFC Sunderland. 

Gyan became a cult hero at Sunderland after spending just a season with the Black Cats, scoring ten goals in 34 league appearances.

Although his time in England was short following a shocking move to the United Arab Emirates at the peak of his career, Gyan disclosed in an interview with Rio Ferdinad that the decision was necessitated by the EPL outfit.

"Surprisingly, my best time was in UAE," he told the Manchester United legend.

A surprised Ferdinand asked why he had to leave Sunderland, he said: "There were a lot of stories coming out around that time, but it was Sunderland that asked me to leave.

"Because of the deal that came. It was a loan deal and they feel you can capitalise on that deal, thinking that I will go for that deal and come back.

"Initially that was my mind, go for the deal and come back. I went there, fell in love with the place. So I had to focus on the option to buy and I had to go with that."

Gyan ended up scoring 95 goals in 83 appearances for Al Ain in the UAE, his most prolific stint.

During that period, he was also raking in the numbers for the Black Stars, becoming the country's all-time top scorer.

By Lukman Abdul Mumin

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