Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew has reflected on his part in one of football’s greatest dynasties.
In an in-depth interview, he discussed how his mother could barely watch some of his tensest games, how his journey from Ghana to a professional academy in France was a tough one.
“My mum didn’t want me to stay there because she felt I was not ready, but my dad said: ‘Listen, just let him go for one or two years.’ She was not happy, because she wanted me to come back home. I went when I was 14 – and didn’t come back until I was 23!” Ayew remembers.
The striker joined Marseille, the club where his legendary father Abedi Pele made his name, as a trainee in 2006 before signing a three-year professional contract with the club in 2009.
“It was a massive change. I was sad – honestly, after four months I called my mum and said: ‘I want to come home, I cannot do it.’ My dad said: ‘You are not coming home. You made a decision and you need to honour that decision.’
Jordan made his debut for the Ghana national team in 2010 and has earned over 80 caps, scoring 19 goals.
He has played in two FIFA World Cups (2014 and 2022), as well as five Africa Cup of Nations (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021), helping them finish runners-up in 2015.
