I regret leaving Sunderland – Asamoah Gyan

Ex-Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan says his only career regret is not to have played in the English Premier League for long.

The Ghana international spent just one season at the Stadium of Light but made a huge impact.

Gyan scored ten league goals in 31 appearances before a loan move to UAE side Al Ain just three matches into the 2011/2012 season.

''Sometimes I think I should have stayed longer. The regret is me not playing so much in the best league in the world,'' he told rokerreport.

''When people ask me “how long did you play for Sunderland?” I feel so bad I can only say one year. I feel like I could have achieved things in other top leagues too.

''Sunderland fans are fantastic. It isn’t a huge city but the stadium was always packed and they backed us with their heart - it was only a year but I really enjoyed it.''

He got a lot of flak for his move to the Gulf as many felt he had a lot of qualities to switch to an obscure league.

But the 31-year-old believes he did enough to justify his move.

He added: ''I am very proud of what I did in the UAE for Al Ain, because I created a new legacy for me.

''I created something for myself, I was the top scorer of all time in that league, the top foreign player of all time. I know it isn’t the Premier League, but I felt like I helped raise the standard there and others joined afterwards.

''I went to Al Ain and I fell in love with the place, created a new legacy and they paid me good money and if we are honest with ourselves that is a big reason why we work.

''Sometimes I do regret it, but it goes both ways. I regret not playing longer in the biggest league in the world, but then sometimes I don’t regret because I have to do what I have to do.''