André Morgan Rami Ayew (; born 17 December 1989), also known as Dede Ayew in Ghana, is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger or forward for club

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and the Ghana national team, of which he is the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Ayew is the second-born son of three-time

African Footballer of the Year The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African association football, footballer each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992. Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Touré have won the award the ...

and

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

member Abedi "Pele" Ayew and has two brothers, Ibrahim and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, who also are professional footballers. In 2011, Ayew was named the BBC African Footballer of the Year and Ghanaian Footballer of the Year. Ayew began his career in Germany, playing for 1860 Munich, while debuting for the club at age seven. In 2006, he signed with his father's former club,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, and spent two seasons in the club's youth academy before making his debut in the 2007–08 season. Ayew spent the following two seasons on loan with

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

and Arles-Avignon, helping the latter team earn promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

for the first time. In 2010, he returned to Marseille and became an integral part of the first team under manager Didier Deschamps, making over 200 appearances and winning consecutive

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

and

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

s in both 2010 and 2011. Born in France, Ayew has been a full international for Ghana since 2008 and has earned 120 caps. At youth level, he starred for and captained the under-20 team that won both the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He has played in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s (

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

), as well as eight

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

(

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

), helping them finish runners-up in 2010 and 2015, and was top goalscorer at the latter tournament.

Club career

Early career

Ayew began his career with 1860 Munich, where his father played. At the age of ten, Ayew was playing for Nania, where his father is club chairman, in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana. After four years of plying his trade in the club's youth academy, he was promoted to the team's senior squad at the age of 14. Despite being on the senior team, he still participated in youth-sanctioned events, such as the 2004 edition of the Altstetten U-19 Tournament, in which he was named one of the tournament's most famous players. Ayew played professional football at Nania for two seasons before departing the club and returning to France to play for his father's former club

. Ayew joined the club on an ''aspirant'' ("trainee") contract and, upon his arrival, was put into the club's youth system and placed onto Marseille's first professional

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

, agreeing to a three-year deal. He was officially promoted to the senior team and assigned the squad number 29 shirt.

Marseille

Ayew made his professional debut for

on 15 August 2007 in a league match against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, coming on as a substitute for Modeste M'bami in the 89th minute. Marseille lost the match 2–1. On 6 November, he made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut against Portuguese champions

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

at the Estádio do Dragão, playing on the left wing in place of Bolo Zenden. Ayew played 77 minutes before being substituted out as Marseille were defeated 2–1. Ayew earned praise from the media for his performance of containing Porto

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

José Bosingwa José Bosingwa da Silva (born 24 August 1982) is a Portuguese former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. An attacking fullback, his pace and ability to get up and down the flanks created problems for the op ...

. Five days later, Ayew earned his first league start against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

at the

Stade de Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

. Ayew again featured in the team as Marseille pulled off a 2–1 victory. Ayew finished the season with 13 total appearances, nine in league play and two in cup play, in addition to two Champions League appearances. Ayew's first season with the club drew the attention of

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, who reportedly offered Marseille €6 million for the player. Marseille, however, denied the offer.

Loan moves

For the 2008–09 season, Ayew switched to the

squad number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

8 shirt, though due to the arrival of attackers Hatem Ben Arfa,

Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing. Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he w ...

, Bakari Koné and Mamadou Samassa, he was deemed surplus to requirements for the season and was loaned out to fellow first division club

for the season. Ayew was used by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Christian Gourcuff as one of the team's focal points of the attack alongside Fabrice Abriel, Kevin Gameiro and Rafik Saïfi and made his debut on 16 August 2008, coming on as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against Lyon. On 27 September 2008, he scored his first professional

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

after netting the opener in the team's 1–1 draw with

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

. A month later, he scored his second career goal in a 4–1 rout of

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. Despite the initial success, Ayew was limited throughout the league campaign to just appearing as a substitute. He finished the season with 22 league appearances and three goals and, on 30 June 2009, returned to Marseille. Two months later, on 31 August 2009, the last day of the

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, new manager Didier Deschamps confirmed that Ayew would be joining newly promoted

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

club Arles-Avignon on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

for the 2009–10 season. Ayew was given the number 10 shirt and his favorable right wing position. He made his debut with the club on 11 September, appearing as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

. The following week, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 defeat to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

. He was ever present in the team's fall campaign, but due to the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

, he missed the month of January. Ayew returned to the team on 5 February 2010 and appeared as a starter in all of the team's matches for the rest of the campaign. On 9 April, with the team in the midst of a promotion battle, Ayew scored a double in the team's 2–1 victory over

. The following week, he struck again scoring the opener in the team's 1–1 draw with Guingamp. On 14 May, Arles-Avignon secured promotion to Ligue 1 following the team's 1–0 win over Clermont. Ayew started and played the entire match. He finished the campaign with Arles-Avignon appearing in 26 total matches and scoring four goals.

Return to Marseille

After the successful league campaign with Arles-Avignon, on 16 May 2010, Marseille manager Didier Deschamps confirmed that Ayew would be returning to the team and that he will be earning some significant playing time with the club for the 2010–11 season. On 5 August, Ayew signed a three-year contract extension with Marseille. The new deal kept him at the club until June 2014. Despite the arrival of Loïc Rémy, Ayew was inserted as a starter by Deschamps and scored his first goal in the second league match of the season against Valenciennes in a 3–2 defeat. Following the international break in September, he scored a double against his former club Arles-Avignon in a 3–0 win. In the

, Ayew scored goals in victories over Guingamp and

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively. On 20 November, he scored the only goal in a victory over

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. Ayew scored the goal two minutes from time. On 27 April 2011, Ayew scored his first professional

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–2 victory over

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, converted the other goal for Marseille in the win. Because of his outstanding performances throughout the season, Ayew was nominated for Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season, along with Marvin Martin and

Yann M'Vila Yann Gérard M'Vila (born 29 June 1990) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Stade Malherbe Caen, Caen. M'Vila is a France national football team, French international, having played ...

. He was voted Marseille's Best Player for the Season for 2010–11. Ayew was named in the squad for the

2011 Trophée des Champions Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature *Eleven (novel), ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmi ...

match against

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

held on 27 July 2011 at the Stade de Tanger in Morocco. He scored a hat-trick, including two 90th minute penalties, ensuring Marseille a 5–4 victory. In December 2011, Ayew signed a one-year contract extension until 2015 with a release clause of €18 million. On 22 February 2012, Ayew scored a goal in the 93rd minute, in a 1–0 victory over

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

round of 16 first leg. However, Marseille managed to qualify to the quarter-finals by winning on away goals rule, after drawing 2–2 on aggregate. On 4 April 2014, Ayew scored only his second hat-trick of his Marseille career, inspiring his club to a 3–1 league victory, their first in seven outings, over bottom club

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

Swansea City

On 10 June 2015, Premier League side Swansea City announced that Ayew had joined the club on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract with the ''Swans'' pending Premier League and international clearance. Ayew scored his first goal for the club on his debut against Chelsea on 8 August 2015 in a 2–2 draw. On 15 August 2015, Ayew scored his second goal in his second game for Swansea in their 2–0 victory against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. He continued his form in the next league fixture against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, where he scored and created an assist. Ayew was named Premier League Player of the Month for August 2015 and also received Swansea's monthly award the GWFX Player of the Month for August after making an immediate impact, scoring three goals in his first four league appearances. Ayew ended the 2015–16 season as Swansea's top goalscorer with twelve goals from 34

appearances.

West Ham United

On 8 August 2016, Ayew signed for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for a then club record fee of £20.5 million on a three-year contract, with the option of an extra two years. Ayew's debut game for West Ham, on 15 August 2016, against Chelsea, lasted 35 minutes before he was substituted after sustaining a thigh injury. He returned to first team action on 26 October 2016 in a 2–1 home win against Chelsea in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. On 26 December 2016 Ayew scored his first West Ham goal. Playing away at his former club, Swansea City, Ayew scored the first goal in a 4–1 West Ham win. Ayew left West Ham in January 2018 having scored 12 goals in 50 games in all competitions.

Return to Swansea City

On 31 January 2018, Ayew completed a deadline day return to Swansea City for a reported £18 million rising to £20 million with add-ons. He made twelve appearances for Swansea without scoring during the 2017–18 season as the team was relegated from the Premier League.

Fenerbahçe (loan)

In July 2018, Ayew joined

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club Fenerbahçe on a season-long loan. The deal reportedly included an option for the club to sign Ayew permanently at the end of the loan period. After scoring five goals in 29

appearances, Ayew returned to Swansea at the end of his loan.

2019–20 season

On 13 August 2019, Ayew made his first appearance for Swansea since 2018, scoring two goals in a 3–1 win against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in the

. He scored 18 goals from 47 appearances as Swansea reached the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

semi-finals, losing 3–2 to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on aggregate.

2020–21 season

During the 2020–21 season, Ayew scored 17 goals in all competitions, including once in the first leg of the

semi-final win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. On 29 May 2021, Ayew made his final appearance for Swansea, playing the full 90 minutes as the team lost 2–0 to Brentford in the Championship play-off final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. On 4 June, Swansea announced Ayew would leave the club upon the expiration of his contract.

Al Sadd

On 21 July 2021,

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

club

Al Sadd SC Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd (Qatar), Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars Leagu ...

announced that they had reached an agreement to sign Ayew on a free transfer. He was expected to arrive in Doha the following morning to complete the routine procedures, followed by the signing of the contract and the official announcement. On 22 July, the club announced his transfer and unveiled him after he had signed a two-year contract with an option for an additional year. He was reportedly set to earn around $220,000 a month. He joined the club 39 years after his father Abedi Pele also signed and played for them in 1983. During his only full season at Al Sadd, Ayew finished as second-top goalscorer in the QSL as the team won its 16th league title.

Nottingham Forest

On 2 February 2023, following his release from Al Sadd, Ayew joined Premier League club

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on a contract until the end of the season. On 26 April, Ayew came on as late substitute in a 3–1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion to make his 100th Premier League appearance. Ayew was released by Forest following the 2022–23 season, having made 13

appearances, starting once.

Le Havre

On 11 November 2023, Ayew completed a transfer to French Ligue 1 club

. Later that month, on 26 November, he made his debut for the Normandy club as a 65th minute substitute in a Ligue 1 fixture against

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and was sent off three minutes later for a foul on Eray Cömert. On 4 October 2024, Ayew rejoined Le Havre after his contract had expired in the summer by signing a one-year deal.

International career

Youth

Due to having dual French and

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

citizenship, Ayew was eligible for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. He initially chose to represent France, citing the failed inquiries of the Ghana Football Association to contact him as his reason why, but declared Ghana to be his first option, citing his father. Ayew was subsequently called up and participated in a training camp with the France under-18 team. In 2007, he turned down several offers to play for the country's under-21 team. Ayew later warned the Ghana Football Association that he was on the verge of representing France at international level, stating, "At this moment there is only one choice to make because I have only received an invitation from one country and that is France." At the youth level, Ayew represented Ghana at under-20 level and captained the team to victory at both the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. At the African Youth Championship, Ayew scored two goals against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

in the group stage and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the semi-finals. The 4–3 semi-final result progressed Ghana to the final where the team defeated group stage opponents Cameroon 2–0. The championship victory resulted in the team qualifying for the ensuing U-20 World Cup. In the tournament, Ayew scored twice against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in a 4–0 rout and the equalizing goal against South Africa in the round of 16. Ghana later won the match in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

through a goal from Dominic Adiyiah. Ayew then captained the team to victories over the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, to reach the final where they faced

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In the final, Ghana defeated the Brazilians 4–3 on penalties to win the U-20 World Cup. Ayew converted Ghana's first penalty in the

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

Senior

On 7 August 2007, Ayew was called up for the first time by Ghana coach Claude Le Roy for the team's

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

on 21 August. He made his international debut in the match, appearing as a late-match substitute. On 11 January 2008, Ayew was named to the Ghana squad to play in the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

. Ayew made his second major international tournament appearance by appearing at the

. On 19 January 2010, in the team's final group stage match against

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, he scored his first international goal in 30th minute with a header. Ghana won the match 1–0 and reached the final where they were defeated 1–0 by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Ayew appeared in all five matches the team contested. On 7 May 2010, Ayew was named to coach

Milovan Rajevac Milovan Rajevac (Serbian: Милован Рајевац; born 2 January 1954) is a Serbian Manager (association football), football manager and former professional player. Playing career Born in Čajetina, Rajevac played as a Defender (associat ...

's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He was later named to the 23-man team to compete in the competition alongside his brother Ibrahim. On 12 June, Ayew made his

debut in the team's opening group stage match against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, starting ahead of the more experienced

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese Calcio, Udinese, Inter Mil ...

. He later started in the team's ensuing group stage matches against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In the team's round of 16 match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Ayew assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Asamoah Gyan after sending a – pass into the United States

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, which Gyan collected and then converted. For his performance in the match, Ayew was named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. Ayew missed the team's quarter-final defeat on penalties to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

due to

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

accumulation. He went on to play in the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

, scoring against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, as the Black Stars finished in fourth place. In February 2013, Ayew retired from international football after a dispute with the Ghana Football Association. However, he returned to the team for a World Cup qualifier against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

on 6 September. He then went on to start in both legs of Ghana's 7–3 aggregate

defeat of Egypt to secure qualification to the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. On 2 June 2014, Ayew was named in Ghana's squad for the World Cup. In the team's opening match, he scored an 82nd minute equalising goal against the United States in an eventual 2–1 defeat. He then scored the Black Stars' first goal in a 2–2 draw with Germany in their second group match. On 19 January 2015, Ayew scored Ghana's first goal of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in a 2–1 loss to Senegal. Ayew is currently the captain of the Black Stars. On 3 January 2022, Ayew was named in Ghana's 28-man final squad for the delayed

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

. Ghana lost their first match at the tournament against Morocco, which Ayew played the full 90 minutes. He would however score a goal in Ghana's second group game, a 1–1 draw against

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. In Ghana's third game Ayew was sent off during the course of an unexpected 3–2 defeat to the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

, with Ghana finishing bottom of their group of four. Ayew helped Ghana qualify for the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, where they were placed in Group H. His participation at the tournament made Ayew the only Ghanaian player to feature at the nation's last three World Cups. In Ghana's first game of the group stage, Ayew scored his side's first goal of the competition, equalizing in the 73rd minute to bring the score to 1–1 during the course of an eventual 3–2 defeat against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Following a 3–2 victory over

, Ghana required a win or draw in their final group match against

to advance, and were awarded an early penalty, taken by Ayew. However, Ayew would see his attempt saved, and Uruguay went on to score twice in the first half. At half-time, Ayew and his brother Jordan were both substituted, but the scoreline finished unchanged at 2–0, to send Ghana home in fourth place in their group. He has been omitted from the Ghana Black star squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifier matches against Mali in Bamako and Central African Republic in Kumasi.

Personal life

Ayew was born in Seclin, a commune in the

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

, to Ghanaian parents. He holds both French and Ghanaian nationalities. His maternal grandfather Alhaji A.A. Khadir, is Lebanese. Ayew comes from a family of footballers. His father,

Abedi Pele Abedi Ayew ( ; born 5 November 1964), known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the grea ...

, was a professional footballer and was playing for Lille at the time of his birth. He is the nephew of Kwame Ayew and Sola Ayew, both of whom are former international footballers. Ayew also has two brothers who are professional footballers; Ibrahim and

, and a sister, Imani. Jordan currently plays for Leicester City and Ibrahim currently plays for Lincoln Red Imps F.C. in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. He is a practising

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Ayew married his long-term girlfriend, Yvonne, with whom he has a son.

Charity work

On 26 July 2019, Ayew made donations to the Ghana under-20 team, which he captained to victory 10 years earlier. This was a move that was made to encourage and motivate the team ahead of the Africa games slated for the following month in Rabat, Morocco.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ayew goal.''

Honours

Marseille *

: 2010–11, 2011–12 *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Al Sadd *

: 2021–22 *

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

Ghana U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* African Youth Championship:

Ghana *

runner-up:

; third place:

Individual * BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2011 * Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2015 * CAF Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2015 * Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorer:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

* Premier League Player of the Month: August 2015 * IFFHS CAF Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020 * Calcio Trade Ball Order of the Star Award: 2022 * Ghana Player of the Year: 2011 * Ghana Football Awards Footballer of the Year: 2021 *

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

Player of the Season: 2011 * Swansea City Players' Player of the Year: 2019–20 * Swansea City Supporters' Player of the Year: 2019–20 * Swansea City Best Newcomer of the Year: 2015–16 *

Goal of the Month: January 2024

References

External links