Andre Morgan Rami Ayew was not born in Ghana, as many would expect, but was instead born in Seclin, France, where his Ghanaian parents were based in 1989. He would return to Ghana and begin his career at Nania, but eventually returned to France to join the Marseille youth setup.
Dede Ayew is the son of well-known former footballer Abedi Pele, who is considered one of Africa’s legendary players. He is a three-time African Footballer of the Year, and was also chosen as one of the 100 best players of the last century as a FIFA 100 member. With Abedi Pele as his father, the pressure was on for Andre to live up to high expectations.
Andre Ayew is not the only footballer in the family. Aside from his famous father, his two brothers Ibrahim and Jordan also became professional footballers. Younger brother Jordan now plays for Aston Villa, having the opportunity to play against his brother in the Premier League twice a season. Older brother Ibrahim has played for Zamalek in Egypt, Lierse in Belgium, and is currently at Asante Kotoko in Ghana.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will be a painful memory for Andre Ayew, as the Black Stars of Ghana came so close to securing the continent’s top national team title, progressing all the way to the final in fine style before a cruel and tense penalty shootout went the way of the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire. It could have so easily been different, but Andre Ayew will have other opportunities to win the AFCON in future. He ended the tournament as the top scorer.
For both club and country, the Ghanaian is the holder of the number 10 jersey. At Swansea City he was given the shirt when he joined the club in 2015, while at national team level he is also given the honour. The number 10 shirt is usually worn by one of the attacking stars of a team, and is typically sought after by fans as the best players often don the symbolic number.
In the 2015 transfer window the talented attacking player finally made the switch from Marseille in the French Ligue 1 to Swansea City in the English Premier League. Ayew refused to sign an extension to his contract with Marseille, and joined Swansea on a free transfer as a result, signing a four-year deal to keep him at the club. He was in demand once it was made known that he would be leaving France, with clubs in England, Italy and Germany displaying their interest.
The Ghanaian was officially named the best African player in the French Ligue 1 for the 2014-15 campaign, following his impressive season for Marseille. He was given the honour ahead of Saint-Etienne’s Ivorian striker Max Gradel in second place, and Tunisia’s Aymen Abdennour, who plays for Monaco. The accolade, known as the Marc-Vivien Foe Award, was presented by French radio station RFI and television broadcaster France 24 to recognise the best African talent in the French top flight.
The Swansea City player is a social media savvy football professional, and since joining Twitter in April 2012 he has racked up over 289,000 followers from around the globe. The Ghana international enjoys retweeting content from media and fans involving himself and the teams he represents, and he posts in both English and French, often using the platform to draw attention to important charities or causes.
At only 26, Ayew is already considered a national team veteran, having amassed over 66 caps for the Black Stars of Ghana since making his debut in 2008. After captaining the under-20 team to 2009 African Youth Championship and 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup glory, Ayew went on to represent the senior team at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, while being involved in four AFCONS in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
The Black Stars stalwart may seem like the new kid on the block in some respects, but he has actually been around for some time, and his promise and potential as a football player has been noticed by fans and media from a young age. In fact, in 2011 he was crowned as the Ghanaian Footballer of the Year, which is a huge achievement for a player who was only 22 at the time.
