Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew has revealed how his brothers Andre and Ibrahim have helped to keep him fit ahead of the side’s opener against Bournemouth on Saturday as Premier League return.
The outbreak of the virus across the globe meant virtually all football activities had to come to a halt with stay at home orders imposed by governments to stop the spread.
Swansea City star Andre and Ibrahim who plays for Europa FC in Gibraltar, made their way to Jordan’s house in London and evidently bonded to a great deal.
The trio are the sons of the former Ghana international and three-time African Player of the Year, Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew.
“My brother [Andre, the Swansea City forward] came back from Swansea with his family. I had my older brother [Ibrahim] who came as well. So maybe eight or nine of us in the house,” Jordan said on the official Crystal Palace website .
“[Ibrahim] plays professional football in Gibraltar… he said even before the Bournemouth game he wanted to come and spend a weekend and come to watch the game… When they cancelled our game [v Bournemouth], his game was cancelled a few minutes later.
“He called me and said: ‘Listen, I’m taking the next flight, I’m coming for a couple days in London.’ I said: ‘Okay, that’s fine.’ Andre had his game cancelled as well and he said: ‘I’m bringing the family over, coming for a couple of days.’
“Because we really didn’t know what was coming after the Bournemouth game so he [Andre] brought his stuff for three-fives days and ended up staying for two months! We’re really lucky it happened. It wasn’t really a plan, we just wanted to spend a couple of hours with each other but ended up spending two months together.
“We were training all together outside. I bought this Teqball, so we were playing Teqball, training, doing runs on the roads. We’d play two v one, because my other brother [Ibrahim] is a defender. So he’d defend and my brother and I were attacking.
“To be honest, it is sad but, for me, I’ve never really spent time with my family that much – two months. Every time I see my family is a week or three-four days.
“It was good, really having time to spend with my nieces, it was a really good feeling – playing Monopoly, playing some games at home and spending time with the kids as well. It was really important, I’m not used to spending that much time with the kids; I’m not always at home.”
Premier League football resumes in full this weekend with Palace tackling Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium as they should have before the lockdown. The Eagles occupy 11th spot in the standings.
Jordan – who is Palace’s top scorer this season with eight goals, a career best in England, is clearly excited the game is back.
“Football is my life. I grew up in football, that’s the only thing I know how to do and the only thing that keeps me busy,” the Ghanaian continued.
“Not having football for two months was really, really sad. It made me honestly depressed.
“To know the game is back on… it’s a really, really nice feeling. Now, I’m going to watch football and not [TV] series!”
