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‘Money conscious Sunderland persuaded me to Al Ain’ – Gyan

Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has revealed that English side Sunderland pushed him to accept a loan offer to oil rich United Arab Emirates side Al Ain in 2010.

The now Shanghai SIPG forward, after starring for the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, completed a £13million-plus switch to the Stadium of Light from French side Rennes.

Gyan scored 11 goals in his first season in English football and was immediately liked to several clubs the following summer but the Black Cats managed to keep hold of the front-man who had signed a four-year deal with the club.

Gyan struggled to spark in his second season at Sunderland and was said to have engineered his shock switch to Al Ain after signalling his unhappiness with how things were going for him in England.

But the four years later, the 30-year old has lifted the lid by revealing that it was Sunderland who pushed him out in order to take up the £6million loan offer from Al Ain.

“They [Sunderland] convinced me to go,” Gyan told Ghana Live TV.

“They persuaded me to go so when they said that I said ‘Okay, it’s because of the money’.

“I didn’t understand the business-wise [sic]. They told me when I came there, publicity was very good. They were making a lot of money in selling my shirts, so in business-wise [sic], it was going well for the club.

“So after they persuaded me, I had to call my family. I called my brother, my dad, my mom, and they told me that if that is what Sunderland are saying and I think it’s a good deal then I can go for the loan.”

Gyan scored 22 goals in 18 games on loan before scoring 68 more over three years after making his stay at Al Ain permanent. He however made a switch to Chinese big spenders Shanghai SIPG in summer 2015.

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