PAOK left-back Baba Rahman has penned a long message to Ghanaians clarifying the reason why he was not included in Chris Houghton’s final 27-man squad for the 2023 AFCON.
In a message to Ghanaians, the 29-year-old explained the reason why he was not selected for the AFCON.
“I just wanted to say that the decision to opt out of the AFCON was solely based on footballing reasons and nothing else”, said Baba Rahman.
The former Asante Kotoko left-back expressed his extreme delight in wearing a Ghana jersey. “Playing for my country will always be the highest point of my career and every time I have been lucky to wear the shirt I have given my all”, Baba revealed.
The 29-year-old has struggled with injuries throughout his career from playing for Chelsea, and Schalke 04 to Marseille. He said, “The last few years I have had to battle injuries and recovery times and I feel that it’s best in the interest of my career and that of the team to only play when I don’t have to think about recovery or pain- that way I can always give my best to the team.
“The life span of a footballer is very short and sometimes we have to make these tough calls for the general interest of the nation we love the most and that of our career to enable longevity”, continued Baba.
Baba Rahman has suffered from Ghanaians bashing recently whenever he plays for the Black Stars as many have called for his exclusion from the team. The left-back made himself unavailable for selection. He therefore will be supporting Ghana from afar.
Baba said, “I would be cheering the team and pushing them on to try to win us the AFCON we all desire. But as of now let’s all support anyone the manager picks because the most important thing is Ghana which is bigger than any individual.
“God bless our homeland and make us great and strong”, concluded Baba Rahman.
Abdul Baba Rahman, Thomas Partey, Kamaldeen Suleymana and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku were not included in Chris Houghton’s final squad for the AFCON.
Ghana is placed in Group B alongside Cape Verde, Mozambique and Egypt for the 2023 AFCON.
