Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has named Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario de Lima as the greatest football player of all time.
Gyan admired the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star during his youth and even modelled his playing style after the 47-year-old.
The debate over who is the greatest footballer has been ongoing for decades, initially centred around Pele and Maradona. In recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have also been prominent in this discussion due to their remarkable achievements in the 2010s.
However, Ronaldo remains the youngest player to have won the FIFA World Best Player award, first securing it in 1996 at the age of 20. He went on to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award two more times and also claimed the FIFA World Cup twice with Brazil.
Gyan believes no player is as complete as Ronaldo and ranks the Brazilian legend as the greatest of all time, surpassing other contenders.
"Brazilian Ronaldo is the one from whom I drew a lot of inspiration. To me, he is the greatest player of all time,” Gyan told YFM.
“He was a centre-forward who could do everything. I grew up and acquired skills similar to his. A centre-forward might have certain qualities and lack others, but I see myself as a complete striker who never lacked anything. I thank God for that," he added.
Gyan is currently Ghana’s record scorer with 51 goals and is also the country’s second most-capped player of all time, behind only Andre Ayew.