Andr Ayew is a Ghanaian-French professional soccer player who has represented, as a winger, Olympique de Marseille (2007-2015) in France; Swansea City A.F.C. (2015-2016, 2018-2021) in Wales; West Ham United F.C. (2016-2018) and Nottingham Forest F.C. (2023-Present) in England; and Al Sadd SC (2021-2023) in Qatar. He has also spent loan spells with FC Lorient
André Ayew Quick Info
Height
5 ft 9 in
Weight
72 kg
Date of Birth
December 17, 1989
Zodiac Sign
Sagittarius
Spouse
Yvonne Ayew
André Ayew is a Ghanaian-French professional soccer player who has represented, as a winger, Olympique de Marseille (2007-2015) in France; Swansea City A.F.C. (2015-2016, 2018-2021) in Wales; West Ham United F.C. (2016-2018) and Nottingham Forest F.C. (2023-Present) in England; and Al Sadd SC (2021-2023) in Qatar. He has also spent loan spells with FC Lorient (2008-2009) and AC Arlésien (2009-2010) in France, and Fenerbahçe S.K. (2018-2019) in Turkey. At the international level, André represented Ghana at the under-20 tier before making his senior national debut in August 2007. He was appointed the captain of Ghana’s senior national team in 2019 and had held that role as of mid-February 2023. In Ghana’s pre-quarterfinal stage match of the 2010 edition of the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup, against the United States, he assisted the game-winning goal (scored in the 93rd minute) of a 2-1 extra-time victory. André was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his performance which propelled Ghana to the quarter-final stage of the tournament for the first and, as of February 2023, the only time in history. Ghana, at that time, had become just the 3rd African team to reach this far in the competition – after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. André, unfortunately, missed that quarter-final match (a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay) due to yellow card accumulation. He was also a vital member of the Ghanaian squads that stood 3rd (2008), 2nd (2010), 4th (2012), 2nd (2015), and 4th (2017) at the Africa Cup of Nations (the biennial international men’s soccer championship of Africa).
Born Name
André Morgan Rami Ayew
Nick Name
Dede Ayew, Mopao
André Ayew as seen in an Instagram Post in March 2022 (André Ayew / Instagram)
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Seclin, Nord, Hauts-de-France, France
Residence
He splits his time between France, Ghana, and England.
Nationality
He holds dual nationality.
Occupation
Professional Soccer Player
André Ayew as seen in an Instagram Post in October 2021 (André Ayew / Instagram)
Family
Father – Abedi Ayew aka Abedi Pelé (Professional Soccer Player (Retired), Africa Cup of Nations Winner in 1982, 3-Time ‘African Footballer of the Year’ (1991-1993), UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League Winner in the 1992-93 Season)
Mother – Maha Ayew
Siblings – Imani Ayew (Younger Sister), Jordan Ayew (Younger Brother) (Professional Soccer Player, Africa Cup of Nations Runner-up in 2015)
Others – Denise Acquah (Sister-in-Law), Razan Ayew (Nephew), Kiki Ayew (Niece), Ibrahim Ayew (Older Paternal Half-Brother) (Professional Soccer Player), Kwame Ayew (Paternal Uncle) (Professional Soccer Player (Retired), ‘Bronze’ Medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics), Sola Ayew (Paternal Uncle) (Professional Soccer Player (Retired)), Alhaji A. A. Khadir (Maternal Grandfather)
Shirt Number
12, 13, 10 – Ghana
29, 20, 10 – Olympique de Marseille
8 – FC Lorient
10 – AC Arlésien
10, 19, 22 – Swansea City A.F.C.
20 – West Ham United F.C., Fenerbahçe S.K.
24 – Al Sadd SC
34 – Nottingham Forest F.C.
Playing Position
Winger
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 9 in or 175 cm
Weight
72 kg or 158.5 lbs
André Ayew as seen in an Instagram Post in February 2020 (André Ayew / Instagram)
Girlfriend / Spouse
André has dated –
Yvonne Ayew (2014-Present) – André married Yvonne in 2014 and they have 2 daughters together named Inaya and Maha.
Race / Ethnicity
Multiracial (Black and White)
He is of 75% Ghanaian and 25% Lebanese descent.
Hair Color
Bald
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Toned physique
Often sports a thin mustache
Affable smile
Has his left hand covered in tattoos
Has a tattoo on his right forearm
Religion
Islam
André Ayew as seen in an Instagram Post in June 2022 (André Ayew / Instagram)
André Ayew Facts
André’s youth career began in 1996 when, as a 7-year-old, he joined the youth academy of TSV 1860 Munich, a German professional soccer club where his legendary father played in the twilight of his career.
He stayed there until 1998 and joined the youth team of the Ghanaian professional soccer club F.C. Nania in 1999. His mother is a co-owner of the club while his father has served as its chairman.
In 2006, he was recruited by the youth system of the French top-flight soccer club Olympique de Marseille. His father spent the longest, and most successful, spell of his domestic career with this club, winning the UEFA Champions League in the 1992-93 season. André stayed in the club’s youth system until 2007 when he was promoted to the club’s senior team.
He captained Ghana to the title at the 2009 edition of the Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations (the main international youth soccer competition for CAF (Confederation of African Football, the administrative and controlling body for soccer, futsal, and beach soccer in Africa) nations). It was Ghana’s 3rd such title. During the tournament, he scored 1 out of Ghana’s 5 goals in the group-stage matches. André also scored Ghana’s 3rd goal in a 4-3 semi-final win over South Africa.
Later that year, he captained Ghana to the title at the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. It was Ghana’s 1st such title. During the tournament, he scored 1 out of Ghana’s 8 goals in the group-stage matches. In the pre-quarterfinal stage, he scored the equalizing goal in a 2-1 extra-time victory over South Africa. In the final, against Brazil, he converted Ghana’s 1st spot kick in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.
In the 2010 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, André scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso in a do-or-die group-stage match. This was the first senior-level goal of his international career for Ghana. Ghana eventually finished as the runner-up in the tournament.
In May 2010, at the end of his loan spell with AC Arlésien (2009-2010), he played a key role in helping the club earn a promotion to Ligue 1 (the top division of the French soccer league system) for the first time.
André was included in the ‘CAF (Confederation of African Football) Team of the Year’ in 2010, 2011, and 2015.
With Olympique de Marseille, he won the now-defunct Coupe de la Ligue (a domestic knockout soccer competition only open to clubs in the top 3 divisions of the French soccer league system) in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. The win in the latter season was the club’s 3rd such and made it the then joint 3rd most successful team in the competition.
With the club, André also won the Trophée des Champions in both 2010 and 2011. The win in 2011 was the club’s 3rd such and made it the then 7th most successful team in the competition. The trophy is annually decided by a one-off match that is played between the winners of the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in France).
In the 2011 edition of the Trophée des Champions, André scored 3 goals (71st minute, 90th minute (penalty), and 5 minutes into stoppage time (penalty)) in Olympique de Marseille‘s extraordinary 5-4 over Lille OSC. Olympique de Marseille trailed Lille OSC by 2 goals with 5 minutes to go in the match but a scarcely believable 5 more goals were scored in the dying minutes of the match – 4 of them by Olympique de Marseille and 2 of those by André – which turned the game on its head. He was named Olympique de Marseille‘s ‘Player of the Season’ in 2011.
He won the ‘BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) African Footballer of the Year’ award in 2011. He also won the ‘Ghana Player of the Year’ aka ‘Ghanaian Footballer of the Year’ award that year.
In the 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, André scored 1 out of Ghana’s 4 goals in the group-stage matches. He also scored the winning goal in the 100th minute in a 2-1 extra-time victory over Tunisia in the quarter-final. Ghana eventually finished in 4th place in the tournament.
At the 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup, he scored 2 out of Ghana’s 4 goals in the group-stage matches. Although Ghana finished at the bottom (1 point) of its group, the team’s performances were not all that bad – a 2-1 defeat to the United States, a 2–2 draw against eventual champions Germany, and a 2-1 defeat to Portugal. André had scored Ghana’s 1st goal in the first 2 of these matches.
In the 2015 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, he scored 2 out of Ghana’s 4 goals in the group-stage matches. In the semi-final, he scored the last goal of a 3-0 win over hosts Equatorial Guinea. In the final of the tournament, he converted a spot kick in a heart-breaking 9-8 penalty shootout defeat to Ivory Coast. André finished as the joint-top goalscorer in the tournament (3 goals) and was also included in the ‘Team of the Tournament’.
In 2015, while contracted with Olympique de Marseille (2007-2015), he was honored with the ‘Prix Marc-Vivien Foé’, an award presented annually, since 2009, to the best African player in Ligue 1. The award was instituted to honor the memory of Marc-Vivien Foé, a Cameroonian professional soccer player who passed away in June 2003, aged just 28, during an international match for Cameroon, due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise/exertion).
When André signed a 3-year contract with English club West Ham United F.C. in August 2016, it was for a then-club-record transfer fee of £20.5 million.
In the 2017 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, he scored 1 out of Ghana’s 2 goals in the group-stage matches. He also scored the winning goal (a penalty) in the 78th minute in a 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the quarter-final. Ghana eventually finished in 4th place in the tournament.
For his performances in the 2019-20 season, for Swansea City A.F.C., André was named the ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ as well as the ‘Supporters’ Player of the Year’.
He was included in the ‘IFFHS CAF (Confederation of African Football) Men’s Team of the Decade (2011-2020)’. The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) is an organization that chronicles soccer history and records.
In July 2021, André joined the Qatari club Al Sadd SC on a free transfer. He had signed a 2-year contract with an option for an additional year, joining the club nearly 4 decades after his father had played for them at the beginning of his career.
With the club, he won the Qatar Stars League (the top tier of the Qatari soccer league system) title in the 2021-22 season and the Emir of Qatar Cup (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in Qatar) in 2021. The former title was the club’s record-extending 16th such while the latter was its record-extending 18th such.
André participation in the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup made him the first Ghanaian player to have been featured in his country’s last 3 appearances (2010, 2014, and 2022, in his case) at the FIFA World Cup. In Ghana’s opening group-stage match of the tournament, against Portugal, he scored his team’s 1st goal in a 3-2 defeat.
Although Ghana bounced back to beat South Korea by the same margin in the next match, the team was knocked out of the tournament with a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in the last match of the group stage. André had a chance to score against Uruguay but his early penalty was saved. Ghana finished at the bottom (3 points) of a closely-fought group.
As of mid-February 2023, he had earned 113 caps for Ghana’s senior national team, more than any other player in history. He was also one of only 2 players who had earned more than 100 caps for Ghana’s senior national team – the other being Asamoah Gyan (109).
