‘Footballers are like women’ – Stephen Appiah says phasing out senior players must be managed

Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah says the phasing out of senior players from the national team must be handled properly to avoid any bitterness afterwards.

The Black Stars have a history of leaving former players aggrieved by the way their international careers come to an end.

The conversation over phasing out players who have served the country well has once again reared its head after Black Stars captain Andre Ayew was dropped from Ghana’s latest squad.

Appiah has called for an end to the unplanned phasing out of senior players, insisting the situation can be managed to avoid any form of bitterness afterwards.

The former Black Stars captain compared footballers to women and said they sometimes want to be pampered and made to feel wanted.

“This has been an age-old problem. When you meet Osei Kofi and others, you can see how bitter they are. Then it came to Abedi and others, the Kuffours, and then ours,” Appiah said, as quoted by 3Sports.

“It is all about how you communicate with the player. Some players are senior players who have contributed a lot, experienced, know the team a lot more, and just removing them hurts. That is why some leave bitter. We are different, but we have to try and manage it well, and that is why we have issues.”

He added: “It is about how we manage it. Maybe we let some of the players feel like without them nothing will happen. Players too, we are like women. We want to be pampered, so when we get used to certain things, we think we must get it at all costs. It is all about how you handle it.”

Ayew was the biggest omission from Otto Addo’s squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and the Central Africa Republic (CAR) on June 6 and June 10, respectively.

This was despite the 34-year-old ending the 2023/24 season on a high after scoring five goals in Ligue 1 to help Le Havre escape relegation.

Ayew has been a mainstay in the national team for the better part of the last decade and a half and was named captain ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The former Olympic Marseille and Nottingham Forest forward has, however, had a reduced role in the Black Stars in recent times and didn’t start any of Ghana’s three group-stage matches during the 2023 AFCON in the Ivory Coast.

He remains Ghana’s most-capped player with 120 appearances, though, having represented the country at eight AFCONs and three FIFA World Cups.