Some Black Stars players have harboured bitterness and anger towards Ghana as a result of the perceived unfair treatment they received while playing for the national team.
Some of their resentment stems from how the Black Stars' technical handlers and leaders treated them, while others felt unappreciated by the fans, and yet others are resentful because of unfulfilled promises after playing their guts out and guiding the country to victory.
GhanaWeb explores three players who have exhibited resentment towards Ghana in one form or another.
Michael Essien
Former Black Stars midfielder Michael Essien has been distanced from Ghana football and its related issues since his retirement.
In a previous interview, he was asked whether he would love to work for Ghana as a technical staff, and he responded 'not interested'.
The response rekindled the narrative about him being bitter about the nation.
Essien seldom involves himself in national team activities, especially the Black Stars, aside from sending well wishes prior to games and celebrating wins.
Unlike, many former Black Stars players, Essien only sends well wishes to the team prior to games and celebrates their wins, which is the only connection he has with Ghana.
He openly expresses his love for Chelsea and attends some of the club's events, but is rarely seen in similar functions when it is about the Black Stars.
Speaking on how Essien opts to stay far from the Black Stars, Prince Tagoe who played with former Chelsea man said, he still feels hurt by the unfair treatment he faced during his international career.
"For somebody like Michael Essien, personally, Ghanaians didn't treat him well. If I have to be honest, some of us, can say for a fact that Ghanaians did not treat him well. At the time when he was at his peak playing for Chelsea, he helped and played for Ghana. But when he started getting injuries and started to lose form for the likes of Anthony Annan to replace him, the fans use to talk trash about him that 'he is nobody and can decide not to play(for the Black Stars)'," he told Angle FM.
"Michael Essien's profile is similar to Stephen Appiah and these are the people who can help Ghana football...For Essien, we did not treat him well in everything including captaincy. So if he had decided not to come close to the Black Stars and it's a fact," he added.
"From when we hosted AFCON and played at the World Cup in Brazil, you can see Essien is not the type who comes to Ghana often because of how some Ghanaians behave. Essien is one of the people who has sacrificed (for Ghana) and if he is now in a good position why can't he help the youth team or the national team? It is our behaviour. If we don't change our attitude, all the good ones won't come close to the national team."
Alfred Duncan
Former Ghana U-20 midfielder, Alfred Duncan was forced to retire from international football at age 29.
In a statement released in May 2022, he disclosed his anger, claiming that he was treated unfairly through consistent overlooking. He also noted that he was humiliated and discriminated against.
“The time has come to say goodbye to the national team. My heart is sad because I wanted to write a piece of history with the Ghanaian national team but they NEVER gave me the chance to prove it.
"When you are never considered and there is nothing you can do to change the situation, mentally it becomes more difficult. I have been humiliated, discriminated against, and left aside for years even though I have tried to keep the doors open all the time,” the statement said.
He further stated that former Black Stars coaches, Avram Grant, Kwesi Appiah, and CK Akonnor understand his grief about his treatment at the national team.
"The President of the GFA, Kwesi Appiah, Avram Grant, and CK Akkonor know perfectly well what I mean and how they treated me. For the person that I am, I don’t deserve everything they put me through and for this reason, I put an end to a story that never began,” he continued.
Currently, the Fiorentina man has deleted almost everything Ghana from his profiles on social media.
George Alhassan
George Alhassan is rated as one of Ghana's best-ever strikers. He played for Great Olympics and the Black Stars.
In a recent interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV, he revealed that he regrets ditching the Stallions of Burkina Faso to play for the Black Stars of Ghana remains one of the most regretful decisions of his football career.
Without shedding light on why he regrets playing for Ghana, he said he prefers to remain mute on the issues.
“I regret not playing for Burkina Faso. Originally, I come from Burkina Faso, same as my dad but I was born in Ghana and that was how I stayed here and became a Ghanaian.”, he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV.
“It remains one of my greatest regrets because I even scored in a game against Burkina Faso. Yes, there are issues but I prefer to remain mute because what we achieved for Ghana, none of our promises were fulfilled”, he added.
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