Asamoah Gyan has stated categorically that he will not play for boyhood club Asante Kotoko for free amid interest from the Ghanaian giants.
Gyan, 34, is currently a free agent since leaving Indian Super League fold NorthEast United earlier this year.
He has never hidden his desire to don the Porcupine shirt before calling time on his playing career.
Last month, media reports went rife that the former Sunderland player's high salary demand has proven a stumbling block to a deal thus far.
Gyan has remarked emphatically that though he loves the Reds, he will not play for the club for free.
“I have said on countless occasion that I have Kotoko at heart, I have also said I will play for them before I retire from the game. As I’m without a club there were speculations that the deal has been finalised but as a professional football player we don’t deal like that,” he said.
“Though I have made it known that I will play for them but at least we have to go through processes because I’m still a professional footballer. Sometimes I don’t want people to downgrade the Ghanaian league, at times people even get it wrong that if a player travels abroad then he is a professional footballer, but they don’t know that the Ghana league is professional.”
“Kotoko should do everything professional although I have said I will play for them. I can just stand up and say I’m going to play for the club. I’m available so when they are ready we have to sit down and go through whatever is involved in terms of signing a contract.”
“The new Chief Executive, Nana Yaw Amponsah is my friend and a partner, he is a good guy and knows everything about the game, we talk behind the scene but it’s not even about football because of our relationship. Kotoko should just do things right, they need to do things that will suit the player and the club before the deal can go through, we don’t do a deal just like that.”
“If everything goes the way I expect; I will join Kotoko. Football is my job and everything will depend on me and the club but it’s all about negotiations. People will say I have money, so I should play for free, but we don’t do that. If it happens that way, it means you are trying take advantage on me, people have the impression I love the club, so I will play for free, no, I won’t do that,” he concluded.