Why Bernard Mensah has retired from Black Stars – Reports

On Sunday, November 8, 2020, Turkey-based Ghanaian midfielder Bernard Mensah announced that he has temporarily retired from the Black Stars.

The Besiktas midfielder in a social media post said that he is taking a break from international duty to focus on his club career.

"I have decided to take a break from the national team until further notice. I want to concentrate on my career for now. Thanks to all Ghanaians for their support," Mensah posted on Twitter on Sunday.

Mensah’s decision to quit the national team came as a shock to supporters of the team and his reason for leaving the team was even more shocking.

Mensah for all his performance at club level has never been a mainstay in the Black Stars team.

His recent call-up which came in friendly matches against Mali and Qatar was his first in five years.

And in both fixtures, he had only forty-five minutes of action which came against Mali, a game Ghana lost by 3 goals.

As journalists dig to discover the ‘real’ reason behind the sudden decision by the midfielder, Asempa FM claims to have landed a scoop that sheds light on the possible reason of Mensah’s temporary retirement from the Black Stars

According to them, an official who shares close ties to the player has disclosed to them that Mensah is peeved by certain things that happened in the team’s camp last month.

Mensah’s exit according to a report by the station is because he confronted a player during the Mali game for giving the ball away easily and the player, in turn, abused him verbally.

The said player also reported Bernard Mensah to coach Akonnor and asked him to be subbed. Strangely, the report adds that Akonnor acted on the words of the said player and that created some issue between the players after the game.

The player in question who happens to be an influential member of the squad also allegedly caused the benching of Kassim Nuhu against Qatar.

Meanwhile, the Black Stars are to begin training today for their game against Sudan on Thursday.

Ghana will face Sudan in an AFCON qualifier at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday.