Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has identified revered ex-Ghanaian footballer Abedi Ayew ‘Pele’ as the greatest footballer of all time.

Nicknamed ‘the Maestro’, Abedi Pele cemented himself as an African great when he became the first player to be named African Footballer of The Year three years in a row between 1991 and 1993.

Abedi Pele also became the first Ghanaian player to win the UEFA Champions League with Olympique Marseille in 1993.

Gyan wrote his name in the history books on Sunday when he scored his 50th goal for the Black Stars in the AFCON 2019 qualifier against Ethiopia becoming only the 5th African player to do so.

Speaking at the 2017 Calcio Trade Ball, where Gyan picked up the headline CTB Order of the Star award, he revealed he still considered Abedi as the greatest African player of all time.

“Although people rate me as one of the best players in history, I think he [Abedi Ayew Pele] is my best player of all time,” he said

"He is the maestro himself and he is one of those who paved the way for me to be here today.”

With the exception of Gyan’s stint in England with Sunderland and Abedi’s spells in Switzerland and Germany, both Gyan and Abedi Pele followed similar career paths outside Ghana.

They both played in France (Abedi for Lille, Marseille and Lyon, Gyan for Rennes), Italy (Abedi for Torino and Gyan for Udinese and Modena) and the United Arab Emirates for Al-Ain.