Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan describes Al Ain stint as 'my best football'

Striker 128 goals in 123 matches for the Garden City club, winning league titles and one President’s Cup crown

Asamoah Gyan proved to be one of the most successful foreign imports to the Arabian Gulf League during his time at Al Ain. Mostafa Reda / Al Ittihad

Former Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan says he enjoyed the best time of his career at the UAE club.

The Ghana forward, his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, spent four years in the Garden City following an initial loan move from Sunderland in 2011, going on to score 128 goals in 123 matches.

Gyan left Al Ain for China’s Shanghai SIPG in 2015 having helped the club to three league titles and one President’s Cup crown, scoring the winner in the 2014 final. He won the UAE top flight’s Golden Boot three times and was top scorer in the 2014 Asian Champions League.

Gyan, who has also represented Udinese, Rennes, Al Ahli and Kayserispor among others, recently signed for Indian Super League side NorthEast United FC.

"I played in the best league in the world in England with Sunderland," he told Outlookindia.com. "But Al Ain was the team where I spent the most time. I think for most of my career, I have spent only one to two years with different clubs. With Al Ain, I gave my everything.

"I was the top scorer for four years and was also adjudged the best player in Asia. You can say that my best football was with Al Ain. In terms of fans, Sunderland fans were great. But then I spent a long time with Al Ain, so their fans also loved and were amazing."