But having revealed he had spoken with the frontman, who is just five goal shy of his record 33, Pele is confident the Black Stars will once again have the services of one of their most famous names.
Apart from having played for Ghana, the pair have one more thing in common – Al Ain. Pele ended his career with The Boss, who recently sealed a 10th Pro League title, with Gyan netting a prolific 17 league goals in 15 appearances so far.
Pele believes Gyan is currently recharging his batteries and a national return is imminent. He said: “I’ve spoken with him recently and I don’t think there is a problem. I think he’ll definitely come back.
“I think he was just disappointed about missing that penalty and in football you can be disappointed in the short term and then you gain the momentum and you charge your batteries and move on and want to get right back into it and I think that’s what’s going to happen. The nation needs him and I think he will be back for Ghana.”
When Gyan arrived at Al Ain from Sunderland on a season-long loan deal, the 26-year-old had been criticised heavily for taking a step back in his career. However, Pele, now 47, believes his compatriot has much to offer and, if available, clubs across Europe will be only too eager to take him.
Gyan’s loan deal expires in a few weeks and Al Ain are planning to make his move to the Oasis City permanent. But Pele doesn’t know if he’ll stay or go. “Asamoah Gyan is doing very well here. I know he is the leading goalscorer here in the league and I’m very happy to see that he is doing well for himself and his club,” said Pele, who is the chairman of Ghana Second Division Club Nania FC, which he owns.
“We’ve spoken a couple of times on the phone and he’s told me what’s happening in Al Ain and that the people love him there. Basically we Africans and the Arabs have the same culture.
“We people from the East and Africa are family centred so I think coming here makes it easier for him because he likes to see people and likes to make contact with people and that makes him a good player and a great person. I hope he’s going to do well here, but if there’s a possibility for him to move back to Europe he will do so.”
Return to Europe
Pele, himself, started his career as an 18-year-old with Qatari outfit Al Sadd. He then turned out for a number of top European clubs including Zurich, Marseille, Lille, Lyon and Torino, before signing a two-year deal with Al Ain in 1998 where he ended his career after scoring 28 goals in 31 appearances.
He added: “I played in this region a few times with Al Sadd and then Al Ain. My career started in Qatar and I became one of the better players in Europe so I don’t think this is the end of his (Gyan’s) career.
“He can gain all the experience he gets here and then move on to become one of the big players in Europe once again. For me this argument does not have any ground. I think everyone has different circumstances.
“I started from here and then moved on to Europe and he started in Europe and then came here, but he’s still young and he has so many years ahead of him and he’s going to achieve so much more in that time.”
Deserving champions
Pele feels his former side totally deserved a 10th league title too. “They’ve been playing well since the start of the season and are by far the best team in the league so they deserved to win,” said the former striker, who won a League and President’s Cup medal with Al Ain.
Pele would love similar success with his own club FC Nania. He revealed: “We started from the fourth division and moved up to the second and that’s where we’re playing our football right now. It’s a professional club and we won the FA Club last season and then the Super Cup so it’s been a wonderful journey.”
Gulf football has also embarked on an exciting journey since he starred here. None more so than Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which Pele feels will take the game here to another level.
“I think the World Cup coming to this region is a huge advantage,” he said. “It’s great for people around the world and football lovers in this region. It’s just going to be great.”
On his favourite teams…
As far as clubs go I follow my own club Nania as we are hoping to break into Ghana’s top league. We are in second place right now but last season was good for us and we hope to get there soon. As far as international football goes it’s obviously Ghana because it’s my dream to keep seeing us do well in every World Cup.
On what he likes to eat…
I like African food and most of the popular dishes that we cook back home in Ghana. Although having played in different places around the world makes you like and accept most other cuisines.
On his hobbies…
I absolutely love the sport and the day-to-day running of my club FC Nania is what I focus on. Apart from that there are the careers of my three sons Ibrahim, Andre and Jordan.
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