Asamoah Gyan now spots a small pot belly. It is most noticeable when he slips into one of his sharp suits, where the tailored drape is forced to negotiate a slight midsection. Yet, the drip remains unmistakably fashionable.

“I’m now retired,” Gyan will not hesitate to remind you.

Perhaps that is the most obvious reminder that time has moved on since he hang his favourite Puma evoPower boots and the iconic Number 3 jersey, when he tearfully made a retirement announcement at a packed banking conference in Accra, Ghana, in June 2023.

Now 40, the once razor-sharp physique has softened ever so slightly, while two faint lines on his forehead hint at the three years of retirement after years of terrorising defenders across the world at 11 different clubs.

Even the crazy haircut styles - that included an iconic number 3 shaved into his hair - have also disappeared.

Read: So close, yet so far: African dream shattered by last-minute mistakes

These days, Gyan opts for clean, neat trims that would not look out of place on fellow retired football star Micah Richards, who now works as a football pundit for major TV networks in Europe where looks are part of his post-career brand.

One thing that remains intact on Gyan is his charisma. Nicknamed ‘Baby Jet’ for his youthful looks and blistering pace when he first burst onto the football scene, Gyan still radiates the same infectious outgoing energy. He still carries the aura of good vibes and likeability. Warm, outgoing and effortlessly playful when need be.

Last week when he touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for a four-day grassroots football tournament, he could not resist breaking into a dance with the young children who showed up to welcome him.

It was nothing out of the usual, hardly out of character. Viral clips of the 6’ 1” player dancing in matches whenever he scored and even inside Black Stars dressing room have long become part of his public persona.

That easy-going nature remained equally evident when he later faced a battery of Kenyan journalists. No question appeared to rattle him, even when some were asked more than once. An unwritten journalistic skill to get the interviewee cornered.

One even asked: “Do you think you made it?”

To which he responded: “I believe I did, but when I was playing there were those who didn't like me and those who did. But since retirement, everyone seems to like me. Now they are more lovable. I guess they are now appreciative of what I did. I will leave it for the public to decide if I made it or not.”

Gyan played for 11 clubs in eight countries during his career, with spells in Italy, France, Turkey, China and India. Perhaps his most high-profile move came in August 2010 when he joined English Premier League club Sunderland after his exploits at the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

But despite establishing his name in Europe, gaining notoriety for his outgoing personality, part-time career as a rap superstar and even becoming a cult hero for Sunderland, Gyan describes his playing time in the United Arab Emirates as the best period of his professional career.

“I just fell in love with the place when I moved from Sunderland to the UAE. I was happy there,” he says.

But perhaps one moment that overshadows his football successes as a legend and an African icon of the game was the 2010 Fifa World Cup, where he missed a crucial penalty kick in the final seconds of extra time in the quarter-final against Uruguay.

Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan (front) is comforted by a teammate at the end of the 2010 World Cup quarter-final match against Uruguay at Soccer City in Johannesburg on July 2, 2010. The penalty shoot out ended 4-2 in favor of Uruguay.

His shot hit the crossbar after Uruguay's Luis Suárez deliberately handled a goal-bound header on the line. Ghana subsequently lost 4–2 in the penalty shoot-out. Had he converted the spot kick, Ghana would have become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

In years that followed, he wasn’t forgiven for the miss, and to this day, it still feels the same way for many African fans. Perhaps forgiven but not forgotten.

“It’s been 16 years of me answering this question. I always tell people that was the best year in my career, everything seemed to be working. I had been injury-free for long spells because my history with tournaments was that I always carried half fitness, but that particular one I was at my best. Even outside the pitch, I was doing music, releasing a song that became a hit and even did more that were successful to the extent that I became even a music star to some people. Before that Uruguay game, I had taken 20 penalties during training and scored all. I was very confident. Everything was just perfect for me that year until that moment when the ball hit the bar,” he reminisces.

Three games into the tournament, Gyan was among the top three scorers behind Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Andres Iniesta (Spain).

“But that moment, that penalty miss robbed me of the continuity of a beautiful run of things. I was very disappointed; I felt I had let down the African continent, but again that moment turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I became even more popular across the world because of how that miss was publicised. Even those who hadn’t heard of me identified me because of the high stakes that were there," Gyan says.

"After that, many opportunities came my way as far as football was concerned because while the miss was pointed out, many still went back to check on my records and did discover I was actually a very good player, and they felt sorry for me. It was just bad luck, you know. Even then, at that particular moment with temperatures rising high and the overwhelming feeling of disappointment, I nearly ended my playing career after the game. What redeemed me was that we went to a penalty shoot-out and I scored the first penalty, that is what redeemed my career because, mentally, it was overwhelming after the miss. I was down,” he recalls.

Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan celebrates after scoring against Mali during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations 'Group D' match in Port-Gentil on January 21, 2017.

Photo credit: File | AFP

Some of those opportunities were in the form of more brands that approached him for commercial partnerships, meaning more millions of dollars in his pocket. To rise above the disappointment, Gyan had to be mentally stable.

“At that moment, many were looking up to me; I was scoring goals for fun, and many wouldn't expect that I would make a mistake. In hindsight, I knew being at the top, having put myself there, also meant I would have a bad moment, and so I was mentally prepared, ready for any consequences, much as I wasn't expecting that it would come at that point.”

Gyan says he still thinks about that penalty and sometimes it hurts.

“At the time, as a team we were flying. We were the only African team that had been left at the tournament. We felt we could do something extraordinary for the continent. Days before, we had received a letter of motivation from President Nelson Mandela rooting for us. We knew Africa had our back and didn't want to disappoint. We were very confident of beating Uruguay, and I think that was evident in the manner we played that game.”

Now enjoying his retirement, travelling the world for football summits and clinics, and even coaching, fostering a culture of supporting the grassroots is his thing.

“When coaching, I tell these young players to focus, sometimes the coach knows more than what you think you know. That is how someone saw me playing on the streets of Accra and took me to Europe, and I did my best. Opportunities need focus and discipline, that’s what takes you far.”

Discipline might sound like a cliché because every successful footballer will always mention it, but that was a value instilled in Gyan as a young boy.

Read: Lapse in concentration or poor game management? African teams pay dearly for last-minute goals

“I grew up in a very strict family, my mother was a headmistress. They wanted us to focus on education more, but it was my elder brother who was always the stereotype of the family. He would always go to the streets to play football, and he would always tag me along. Not long after, my brother became a national star playing for the national team, and we even ended up playing together for the Black Stars before he retired, but even then discipline remained part of me, and I ended up becoming a star.”

Outside football, Gyan says he is more of a homebody.

“I don't go out that much. I am an introvert even though it doesn't seem that way; I am always indoors. Even when in camps during my playing days, footballers would go out to discover the cities, but I was always indoors in my hotel, and maybe when I went out it was to the malls.
I have been to Kenya six times, and even then, while my teammates went for Safaris and to enjoy the Nairobi city life, I was always in my hotel."

In a recent podcast interview with the Rio Ferdinand, Gyan revealed that he hasn't always been a fan of going on luxurious holidays either, as is the culture with many professional footballers whenever on breaks.

“When I retired from football, I retired to my home in Ghana. I could have lived anywhere in the world, but I have always loved being at home. Even when footballers would go for vacations in different countries, I would always travel back home to Ghana. I always feel more peaceful being home.”

When talking about money, Gyan likes to be very modest. He has watched many professional footballers like himself earn millions of Euros and pounds that would set them up for life, only for them to go broke and become miserable. But there is also the issue of ‘black tax '.

Ghana's Asamoah Gyan (left) vies for the ball with Zambia's Hichani Himoonde during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match in Bata on February 8, 2012. Zambia won 1-0 and qualified for the final.

Photo credit: File | AFP

“When you play in Europe, in everybody’s mind when you come back to Africa is that you have to take care of them.

Everybody from family, friends, and everywhere you go, as soon as you pop up, people will be expecting you to give them some money. Most of the time I give out (the money). It gets frustrating, but what do you do? That’s how we Africans are cultured.”

In 2015, when Gyan signed for Chinese club Shanghai SIPG, reports suggested his wages were in excess of £225,000 (Sh34 million at the exchange rate at the time) per week, making him one of the highest football earners at the time.

Gyan joined Shanghai from Al Ain in the UAE, where he had been earning £160,000 (Sh22 million) per week on a four-year contract.

Since retiring, Gyan transitioned to business, investing in entertainment and logistics, real estate, imports, water treatment, mining, air and road transportation, and boxing promotion in Ghana.

In 2017 aged 31, six years before announcing his retirement, Gyan, in an interview with ESPN, revealed his plans after football, stating he was scared of going bankrupt, as he had witnessed with several African players after having an illustrious career.

“From what I have seen in recent years, most retired footballers in Ghana don't have much after football. So I thought hard about it and decided to create businesses that will help me to avoid such situations. You can’t solely rely on football; it's a short career.”

tmatiko@ke.nationmedia.com

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