Left back Baba Rahman has explained why he decided to opt out of Ghana’s squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations set to start in 12 days.
Baba says his decision to opt out was purely based on footballing reasons and nothing more.
The 29-year-old has not made a Black Stars team since playing over an hour in September in Ghana’s final qualifying game for the tournament. During that game, he was booed by the crowd for his performance.
Hughton named the squad on Monday morning without Baba in the team.
This season, the former Chelsea man has featured in 15 games in all competitions and provided two assists.
Read his full statement on Twitter below:
Hear me out:
I just wanted to say that decision to opt out of the AFCON was solely based on footballing reasons and nothing else.
Playing for my country will always be the highest point of my career and everytime I have been lucky to wear the shirt I have given my all.
The last few years I have had to battle injuries and recovery times and I feel that it’s best in the interest of my career and that of the team to only play when I don’t have to think about recovery or pain- that way I can always give my best to the team.
The life span of a footballer is very short and sometimes we have to make these tough calls for the general interest of the nation we love the most and that of career to enable longevity.
I would be cheering the team and pushing them on to try win us the AFCON we all desire. But as of now let’s all support anyone the manager picks because the most important thing is Ghana which is bigger than any individual.
God bless our home land and make us great and strong
