I left England too early - Asamoah Gyan

Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan may have sealed a big-money move to China, but the former Sunderland striker says one of his biggest regrets as a footballer has to be his decision to leave the English Premier League too soon.

Asamoah Gyan has had a stellar career at international level, playing in three FIFA World Cups since 2006.

He remains Ghana’s leading goal scorer but Gyan says despite all his achievements many still doubt his quality and that, he says, hurts him a bit.

“Yes, sometimes I feel like I left the EPL too early because people still doubt if I would have succeed in the EPL. I know my quality and I know I would have more than succeeded, but I am sure people will always have their own opinion about that. Maybe I should have stayed a bit longer to prove my doubters wrong,’ Gyan said in a radio interview in the days leading to his move from Al Ain to Shanghai SIPG.

Before the UAE League, Gyan was at Sunderland, before that at Rennes and before that at Udinese. The Italian club was his first overseas gig, at a time when it seemed Europe was at the Ghanaian's feet. While at Udinese, he attracted interest from Lokomotiv Moscow, who offered $10.5 million for him, but Udinese pulled out.

Gyan was just 21 years old then. He stayed in Italy but never really settled and eventually left after an injury-plagued 2007-08 season. He went on to France, where things went better and he established himself, but the real deal was thought to have been sealed when Gyan cracked the English Premier League.

Gyan scored 11 goals in 37 appearances for the Black Cats after joining from Rennes in a club-record £13m deal in August 2010.

He surprisingly joined Al Ain on loan the following year when the UAE Club paid £6m to Sunderland for the loan deal.

After the loan deal, Sunderland expected Gyan to return to the English Premier League but the player instead decided to make his loan move permanent.

When Gyan left Sunderland for the UAE in September, the club's then-manager Steve Bruce claimed "parasites" turned the player's head after his goal in the 1-1 draw with England at Wembley in March 2011.

"You wouldn't really want somebody who is unwilling to come back to the football club," said the Black Cats boss. "It seems to be the message that's coming across."

Gyan went on to have a successful career at Al Ain and is now ready for a new challenge.

His decision to move to China has received mixed reactions and has been criticized as one motivated by money, but Gyan says that is far from the truth.

"I was looking for a new challenge with the Shanghai team and the money was not the primary motivation," Gyan said in a news conference. "It is my ambition to win the Chinese Super League with Shanghai."